HP Pavilion Elite E9180F Desktop PC Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've become a big fan of the HP Elite line since I bought mine last year. I've built and rebuilt (too) many systems over the years and I worked many years as an electronic technician. I can't recall seeing a retail computer that had better build quality. I have seen better quality systems, but they were not anything you could generally buy in a store and they cost 2x-3x more than this. If you want to spend that kind of money check out Alienware or Voodoo. The main negative I can give you about the Elite systems is that they aren't very upgradable. Part of how it competes with more expensive systems with similar specs is by cutting the motherboard down to a fairly minimal design. This one has room for one more graphics card (the Intel X58 Express supports Nvidias SLi enabling it to run two Nvidia PCI Express 16x graphics cards) and one PCI 4x card for whatever else you may want to toss in there. The nice thing is that this system is so loaded you probably won't need to add anything. Considering all the heat generating stuff inside it's pretty quiet. Just a soft fan noise. The main downsize is the large case, but that's pretty much standard for a system with these kinds of specs.
Let's go through the specs:
2.66GHz Core i7 920: The Core i7 is the best CPU you can buy today. There are faster i7s than this but I wouldn't stretch my wallet much more. The i7 has four cores, running two threads each, so it looks like eight CPUs to your system. You don't always need eight threads, so if you're running a game it can shut down some of those cores and up your clock speed. It has three DDR3 memory channels controlled by a fast on-die controller and each channel is running at 1066Mhz. All that feeding into a giant 8MB cache shared between the four cores, which each have another 1MB cache. It all adds up to a whole lot of fast.
9GB RAM: Nine? Do you need nine? I'm not sure. But that's 3GB per channel and that's a lot of fast memory that will pretty much guarantee you will not see any memory bottlenecks. You will probably throw this computer away before you will need to upgrade the RAM.
1TB HDD 7200 RPM: Considering the kind of user who is going to buy this system, 1TB, while a lot, seems reasonable. Just remember to pick up an external 1TB drive and back that thing up. There's no such thing as a reliable HDD anymore.
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB DDR3 Video card: I've been telling people to stay away from Nvidia lately because of some serious manufacturing issues that they have been less than forthcoming about. The GTS 250 however is built on a later (55nm) process and doesn't have the problems associated with the previous generation. In fact the GTS 250 is pretty much a 9800+ built on the new process. It's a good performing card and can handle any game on the market. And if you want you can pick up another in a year or so and start using the SLI in this thing to run two graphics cards (if this intimidates you take it down to your local computer store and they can have you up and running in thirty minutes). That good future proofing.
BLU RAY: It has a blu ray drive, which is cool but I can't really see using it for much. Still, now if you want to watch a hi-def movie on your computer, you can.
HP Pocket Media Drive bay ad HP Personal Media Drive bay: these haven't been quite as handy as I hoped. The "Pocket" media drive might be handy if you need to hand carry large files. They're generally too small of drives to use for system backups. The "Personal" media drives are just regular hard drives that can plug into a slot in the front of your computer. My complaint is that since personal drive is tightly packaged in platstic (to keep it small) the HDD cooling fan kicks in right away and just keeps running. It's much louder than my computer. For your money you'd be better off buying a larger form factor external drive or a Home Server (which I did, and I love it, but that's another review).
Ports: Ports for everything. Front ports for Firewire, USB 2.0., head phones, microphone, speakers, and a card reader. The rear has more USB and FireWire along with an E-SATA port (great for external HDD). Two DVI connects for two DVI monitors. There is a VGA connector if you really need it along with HDMI.
In short for your money you'd have trouble finding a better built system with real gaming specs. If you live to add stuff inside your computer you won't like the limited internal expansion. But if you just want to get a fast computer and have it work, this is a good buy.

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Get serious about computing with the HP Pavilion Elite e9000, a stylish, high-performance PC for your most demanding digital tasks. Premium performance levels enable an enhanced experience whether you¿re working, e-mailing, editing photos or videos, gaming or connecting with friends online. The HP Pavilion Elite e9000¿s flexibility and expandability let you add devices and features to support your growing needs. The elegant, chrome-accented design is sure to attract attention in any home or office décor.What's in the box: Pavilion e9180f desktop PC, HP USB keyboard, HP USB optical mouse, power cord, Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe software, muvee Reveal Premium, HP MediaSmart Software Suite, Microsoft Works 9, Adobe Reader 8, HP Easy Backup and Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days of complimentary live updates.

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HP TouchSmart IQ846 Desktop PC Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My 2 year old PC suddenly failed last week. I went looking for a replacement. I was surprised to see that "All in One" desktops were now made by most of the name brand companies. This HP was very impressive.
I loaded all of the applications that were running on my old PC (Running Vista 32 bit). The only thing that did not work was the driver for my Canon network attached printer. I was easily able to obtain the correct 64 bit Vista driver from Canon. To my surprise both the 32 and 64 bit application software programs are running with no problems. I have not had occasion to use the Blue Ray but the Touch Smart feature is great. All of my other applications have been running with no problems. In fact the old PC hung and crashed occasional this one has not.
The multimedia and the Digital TV is excellent. I have several new high end HD TVs and the TV feature (connected to an antenna)on this is as good as any of them.
This is the first time I have seen built in speakers that are usable, in fact they are quiet good.
The unit is basically a laptop inside. So there is some performance hit as opposed to a normal desktop. The advantage is that there is no noise, power consumption and heat generation is very low and and very little external cabling is required.
Although I have only had this for 1 week, so far it has been very impressive and I have found the hardware and software has been solid.
The display, wireless mouse and wireless keyboard are all well designed and a pleasure to use.
UPDATE to original review
Althought the original review is still true the computer failed after 2 weeks. HP service wanted me to send it to them with a several week turn around. I took it back to the store where I purchased it and replaced it with a SONY VAIO which also works very well. The folks at the store said HP reliability was good and mine was not the norm.

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The next-generation, touch-enabled PC combines a 25.5" diagonal hi-def widescreen with a powerful energy efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processor in a single, integrated design.Touch-screen technology puts your digital life at your fingertips with fast, easy access to info, entertainment and social networks.Next-generation HP TouchSmart software simplifies access to photos, videos, music and applications. Quick and easy touch access to your digital world.Includes HP TouchSmart software, webcam, media card reader, and premium speakers for fast, easy access to photos, videos, music and applications.HP wireless keyboard, HP wireless optical mouse, power cord, Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe software, Microsoft Works 9, Adobe Reader 8 and Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days of complimentary live updates.

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HP Pavilion Elite E9140F Desktop PC Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Just purchased this item and I'm impressed with the Speed of this box. With the AMD Phenon II 925 Processor at 2.8GHz is way faster than my old Intel Hyper-threaded (hyperthread was garbage.. freezes up a lot) box. Video/processing power makes it the Multi-media heaven box.
The same machine costs so much $$$ more if you customize it online at HP.com. I didn't get a monitor for my price.
Pros: Awesome CPU, lots of freebies for the price, tuner, extra memory, SD/CF reader, extra memory for video (1GB memory ATI not Nvidia),
Neutral: Green (drive to save energy) Western Digital 1TB drive at 5400rpm but with a 32MB cache. Speed tests on Tom's hardware is awesome and faster than many other ones out there including Hitachi. However past experience with WD indicate reliability issues. I guess I'll see.
This one uses 3 platters instead of 4 which is less moving parts and saves energy. Maybe with less moving parts and at a slower rpm, this one will last longer. My Hitachi/IBM drive still is going strong with 4+ years.
Cons: HP doesn't include a recovery disk. Even the low end Lenovo desktop includes it for FREE. That's is awful for a HP to skim on that since we are buy a [..]+ computer here. I had to pony up around [..] for them.
Overall, I like the HP Media Drive Bays for backups are great for backups. Everything is very easy to access and use.
*************************************************
Update 1: Found Personal Media Drive slot has bad cable or something. It would not recognize the HP PMD thru the PMD drive bay. Need to send in for repairs under warranty.
HP support is avg to bad. Bounced around 5 times in 1 night. Better to call in the US daytime.
*************************************************
Update 2: Received desktop fixed by HP back in a few days from HP. Faster than I though. Media Drive works now.
But HP has stolen my right rubber feet on the front side. So another call to HP on another issue.
*************************************************
Update 3: Rubber feet never came on the week as promised even though calling them to confirm it would arrive.
*************************************************
Update 4: Called HP again and a night HP tech works are totally clueless and said they will escalate case. Found out 2 days after, they didn't escalate the case when call back the morning HP tech crew. I guess the HP night support crew is an answering service only.
*************************************************
Update 5: Took 2 weeks and did receive the missing part.
Expected Quality of product after fix: Probably a 5 out of 5.
HP Support (US morning crew) 4 out of 5.
HP Support (US night crew) 1 out of 5.
HP QA of Product: 2 out of 5. (you wonder why so many returns on HPs). They have no QA (Quality Assurance). The issue that I encountered could have been avoided if they did their QA.
Recommendation:
You get what you pay for in price and quality. I do recommend AMD processors (the little guy).

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion Elite E9140F Desktop PC

Get serious about computing with the HP Pavilion Elite e9000, a stylish, high-performance PC for your most demanding digital tasks. Premium performance levels enable an enhanced experience whether you¿re working, e-mailing, editing photos or videos, gaming or connecting with friends online. The HP Pavilion Elite e9000¿s flexibility and expandability let you add devices and features to support your growing needs. The elegant, chrome-accented design is sure to attract attention in any home or office décor.What's in the box: Pavilion e9140f desktop PC, HP wireless keyboard, HP wireless optical mouse, power cord, Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe software, muvee Reveal Premium, HP MediaSmart Software Suite, Microsoft Works 9, Adobe Reader 8, HP Easy Backup and Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days of complimentary live updates.

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Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We've already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they're great. A few things to know:
-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)
- If you're looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you'll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it's a great fit.
- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.
- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.
- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they're great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.
- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.
All in all, a good upgrade.

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Introducing the new Mac mini. Redesigned in a very big way.
A completely redesigned, compact aluminum enclosure hides a powerful, full-size computer. And now with up to twice the graphics horsepower as before, Mac mini brings high performance to everything from 3D games to photos and video. Just connect Mac mini to your display, keyboard, mouse--even your HDTV, courtesy of a built-in HDMI port. It's the most affordable way to enjoy a Mac. And it's still the world's most energy-efficient desktop computer.
The redesigned Mac mini (see larger image).

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HP Pavilion Elite HPE-210F Desktop PC (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Instead of a review, I'm including an abridged version of a letter I sent to Mr Mark Hurd, the President of Hewlett Packard



Dear Mr. Hurd, On April 27 at 2 PM I received a Pavilion Elite Desktop that was defective and "dead in the box." I've been buying computers since 1992 and can accept this but not what followed. (Repair Order #803.........)
From 6 PM to midnight I talked to people in India whose English was barely intelligible making the process extremely difficult. They had me doing tests over and over and sitting on endless hold in between. This was incompetence. Around midnight I was asked to do a "System Restore?" and told by your Tech he would call back---he never did and I was to find that this is common.
On April 28, convinced that the problem was beyond the abilities of your offshore people and not wanting to go back to people I couldn't understand, who never called me back, and who put me on endless hold; I requested (per your guarantee) someone to make a housecall here in Seattle, which was denied. I tried to access American support to no avail and ended up calling Sales--at least they spoke English. They essentially told me "I was on my own" and I thought of the phrase--"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
On April 29 I got your Filipino station and repeated the same process for hours. One particularly grating aspect was listening ad nausea to your parroted message about being able to get home service while I languished on endless hold. This is deceptive and a rotten lie. My machine was brand new----a fact that wasn't even noticed by your techs until the third day. After 20 hrs of my personal time had been chewed up, the dead machine was finally pronounced unfit and carted back by FedEx on April 30.
On May 1, in one final exhaustive attempt to throw salt in my wounds, I received an email double charging me, and my Visa card was billed an extra $50 to boot. Come on Mr. Hurd, you are a great big Fortune 500 company, how hard is it to fix these things.....things I would expect if this was a David Packard startup in his Palo Alto garage. Best Regards A---- E----


Post Script---Yes there is a post script to all this. Hewlett-Packard again sent me a brand new machine---machine #2. After the initial setup, I couldn't get on the Internet. Once again I called your techs in India (Repair order #------858----). After about 5 hours, including a "face to face" and the usual endless tests, I went to bed. Since I wasn't willing to spend another 20 hours on the phone I sent the machine back for a refund. Two bad machines in a row strains the credulity and the bounds of coincidence, but your people were merely sanguine about it all.

The original deal was that I gave HP a price they advertised and they gave me an operational Core i7 machine or they would come out and do an in-house repair. I felt cheated. I got my money back but lost 25+hours of my personal time. Hewlett Packard is a good example of a giant global faceless octopus of a company with ubiquitous advertising, cheap prices and shoddy rubbish products. One of the sales guys told me that if HP used American techs it would add $400 to each machine----so that's why Apples cost more?! Believe me Mr. Hurd, gone are the days I'll do business with HP again.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion Elite HPE-210F Desktop PC (Black)

Get serious about computing with the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-210f PC, a stylish, high-performance PC for your most demanding digital tasks. Premium performance levels enable an enhanced experience whether you’re working, e-mailing, editing photos or videos, gaming or connecting with friends online. The HP Pavilion Elite HPE-210f PC's flexibility and expandability let you add devices and features to support your growing needs. The elegant, chrome-accented design is sure to attract attention in any home décor.

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HP Pavilion Elite M9520F Desktop PC (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive, Vista Premium) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My review is mostly for Enthusiast/Professional Photographers...
I needed a new powerful desktop with 64-bit processing. My Sony Vaio desktop that once was cutting edge two years ago,is now not able to keep up with many of todays demands. Especially my updated versions of Photoshop CS, and Lightroom 2.3 which works native in 64-bit.
64-bit allows windows to accept, use and maximize a computer with 4+ gbs of RAM. The HP Pavilion Elite M9550F comes pre-installed with a maxed out 8gbs of ram.
So for a photographer using high end software, and downloading large amounts of files. This computer works swiftly and effortlessly.
On my older sony desktop, it took about 15 minutes to download 4gb off of a compact flashcard. I could not do any other task while it downloaded, or risked data loss or the download not completing.
It takes about a minute to download with the HP, and I listen to music and/or check emails with no detectable slow down in the system.
On my old desktop, if I changed modules in lightroom, or did any form of editing it took a few seconds to see the changes. I sometimes had to hit Ctrl+Z so I can see the before image. With my new HP,... It's so fast that I miss the changes if they are not drastic. The screen appears to blink, because it responds so fast to my commands.
The onboard 1TB of storage is another huge plus. There are still very few desktops on the market with an internal 1TB drive. I have purchased three 1TB external hardrives, with two mirroring the HP's internal drive. There is a bay available that can be used for an additional internal drive, and you can purchase a HP Media Drive up to 1TB to plug right into a special bay. No wires, or software is necessary.
I distribute CD's to models and clients often. The LightScribe technology that is part of the CD/DVD drive lets you etch custom labels and artwork right on a LightScribe-enabled CD or DVD. This allows you to look professional and a cut about the rest.
There are several ways to hook up a monitor, so I have the VGA attached to my old CRT monitor, and HDMI port attached to a 30inch flatscreen. Using dual displays is just a few clicks, and takes your image editing to another level.
There are a lot of features that I'm sure I missed, but these are the standout features to me, using it for photography.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion Elite M9520F Desktop PC (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive, Vista Premium)

Delivering an amazing high-end home entertainment experience, DirectX 10 gaming, and power for the most demanding PC tasks, the HP Pavilion m9520f Elite desktop PC is powered by the 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300. With four cores in a single processor, the Core 2 Quad and the 8 GB of RAM (maximum capacity) deliver excellent multitasking and multimedia performance, and it's a perfect match for the pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium. You can also go wireless and clutter-free with wireless keyboard, mouse, and remote control, and it includes the next step in Wi-Fi networking with a Draft-N wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n).
A recessed landing pad on top of the chassis offers a convenient place for connecting USB and FireWire devices. One touch of the HP Easy Backup button lets you back up your files instantly, helping to protect irreplaceable photos and files. It comes with a combo optical drive with Blu-ray Disc playback for watching your favorite films in crystal-clear resolution and SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe technology that lets you etch custom, silkscreen-quality labels and artwork directly onto LightScribe-enabled CDs and DVDs.
This Pavilion Elite offers a built-in drive bay to fit an optional HP Pocket Media Drive, for up to 160 GB of additional storage that you can carry away with you when you go (media drive not included). Other features include a 750 GB hard drive, Nvidia GeForce 9600 GS graphics with up to 2558 MB of total available graphics memory, HDMI and DVI video outputs, 15-in-1 memory card reader, up to 8 channels of surround sound output, and Gigabit Ethernet wired networking. It comes with a wired keyboard and mouse.
The pre-installed 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1) includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. In addition to easily playing your DVD movies and managing your digital audio library, you'll be able to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV). Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.
The Basics
Processor: With four execution cores, the 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300 blows through processor-intensive tasks in demanding multitasking environments and makes the most of highly threaded applications. Part of Intel's "Penryn" line of 45nm processors, it features new hafnium-infused circuitry to reduce electrical current leakage in transistors and help this desktop run cooler. It also features Intel Trusted Execution Technology, which provides hardware-based mechanisms that help protect against software-based attacks and protects the confidentiality and integrity of data stored or created on the client PC.
Whether you're creating multimedia, annihilating your gaming enemies, or running compute-intensive applications at one time, new quad-core processing will change the way you do everything. The Q8300 has a top-of-the-line 1333 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and a 4 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
You get four dedicated, physical threads help operating systems and applications deliver additional performance that enhance multi-tasking and multi-threaded performance across many types of applications and work loads. The Smart Memory Access feature improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed. The Advanced Digital Media Boost feature effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications. And with the Intel 64 Architecture, the processor can access larger amounts of memory. With appropriate 64-bit hardware and software, platforms based on an Intel processor supporting Intel 64 Architecture can allow the use of extended virtual and physical memory.

Hard Drive: The ginormous 750 GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 RPM) provides more than enough capacity for storing a large audio and video library, as well as extra space required for video editing. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to Firewire and USB 2.0.
This desktop also includes a drive bay that fits an optional HP Pocket Media Drive, which enables you to add up to 160 GB of additional storage. The Pocket Media Drive also works with any USB-enabled PC, for easy transferring of multimedia files from other computers in your home.

Memory: The 8 GB of installed RAM (PC6400) helps boost the amount of available video RAM that's shared with this notebook's video card. It also offers a fast 800 MHz speed. The 8 GB of RAM maximizes this desktop's capacity.

DVD/CD Drive: This HP desktop is capable of playing back Blu-ray Disc movies in stunning clarity, as well as playing your current library of purchased and burned disc content. This desktop can also write standard DVD and CD media. The BD drive offers up to 6x speeds for reading BD-R/RE discs. It also offers the following write speeds for standard DVD and CD discs: 4x DVD±R DL, 16x for single-layer DVD±R, 8x DVD-RW, 6x DVD-RW, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, and 5x for DVD-RAM.

Keyboard & Mouse: It comes with an HP multimedia keyboard and scroller mouse (both with PS/2 connections).
Video & Audio Video is powered by the Nvidia GeForce 9600 GS graphics/video card, which provides 768 MB of dedicated video RAM and offers up to 2558 MB of total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista. Enabled by PureVideo HD, movies come to life with outstanding picture clarity, ultra-smooth video and vivid color. The lifelike images have up to six times the detail of standard DVD movies. Delivering state-of-the-art graphics performance, The GeForce 9600 GS graphics card is sure to give you the power and performance you crave to play the hottest DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 titles. Its 16x full-screen antialiasing technology delivers superior quality along with astounding performance and since it's optimized for Windows Vista.
The video card includes VGA and DVI video out as well as HDMI audio/video out options. This PC also offers an integrated audio card that can produce high definition surround sound configurable to 8 speakers.
Networking, Connectivity & Expansion This desktop can be wirelessly networked with the integrated Draft-N Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g/n). Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks. It has one PCI expansion slot (available), two PCI x1 Express slots (one available), one PCI x16 Express slot (occupied), two 5.25-inch bays (one available), three 3.5-inch bays (one available), and the following external ports:
6 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players (2 in front, 4 in rear)
2 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (1 in front, 1 in rear)
Video out: DVI, HDMI, and VGA
Headphone and microphone jacks
Audio: Digital SPDIF audio input/output, analog input/output
Surround sound speakers--rear, side, center (subwoofer)
2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
15-in-1 media card reader on the front, compatible with CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick/Pro/Duo/Pro Duo, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, XD Picture Card, RSMMC, MMC Mobile, MMC+
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
56K modem (V.90)

Operating System The 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium (with SP1) is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect via Wi-Fi.
Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.
Preloaded Software
HP MediaSmart Software Suite: Your one-stop multimedia and entertainment center to create photo slideshows, share personal videos, listen to your favorite music playlists and watch DVD movies.
muvee autoProducer Basic: Automatically create professional looking home videos and burn to DVD.
Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe: Automatically fix and edit videos and create CDs and DVDs. Edit, burn and archive data to discs.
Microsoft Works 9: Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database and calendar.
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (60-day trial version).
Adobe Reader 8: Read and print PDF files.
Norton Internet Security 2009 protects your PC and your identity when you email, bank and shop online; 60 days of protection updates included.

Dimensions & Weight This desktop measures 16.61 x 7.0 x 15.51 inches (LxWxD) and weighs approximately 24.25 pounds.
Power
What's in the Box The HP Pavilion Elite m9520f desktop PC comes with a power cord, keyboard, and scroller mouse. It is backed by a one-year warranty for parts and labor from date of purchase, one-year technical phone service, and 90 days of software application support.
Note: Monitor not included.

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HP Pavilion Elite HPE-230F Desktop PC (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Instead of a review, I'm including an abridged version of a letter I sent to Mr Mark Hurd, the President of Hewlett Packard



Dear Mr. Hurd, On April 27 at 2 PM I received a Pavilion Elite Desktop that was defective and "dead in the box." I've been buying computers since 1992 and can accept this but not what followed. (Repair Order #803.........)
From 6 PM to midnight I talked to people in India whose English was barely intelligible making the process extremely difficult. They had me doing tests over and over and sitting on endless hold in between. This was incompetence. Around midnight I was asked to do a "System Restore?" and told by your Tech he would call back---he never did and I was to find that this is common.
On April 28, convinced that the problem was beyond the abilities of your offshore people and not wanting to go back to people I couldn't understand, who never called me back, and who put me on endless hold; I requested (per your guarantee) someone to make a housecall here in Seattle, which was denied. I tried to access American support to no avail and ended up calling Sales--at least they spoke English. They essentially told me "I was on my own" and I thought of the phrase--"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
On April 29 I got your Filipino station and repeated the same process for hours. One particularly grating aspect was listening ad nausea to your parroted message about being able to get home service while I languished on endless hold. This is deceptive and a rotten lie. My machine was brand new----a fact that wasn't even noticed by your techs until the third day. After 20 hrs of my personal time had been chewed up, the dead machine was finally pronounced unfit and carted back by FedEx on April 30.
On May 1, in one final exhaustive attempt to throw salt in my wounds, I received an email double charging me, and my Visa card was billed an extra $50 to boot. Come on Mr. Hurd, you are a great big Fortune 500 company, how hard is it to fix these things.....things I would expect if this was a David Packard startup in his Palo Alto garage. Best Regards A---- E----


Post Script---Yes there is a post script to all this. Hewlett-Packard again sent me a brand new machine---machine #2. After the initial setup, I couldn't get on the Internet. Once again I called your techs in India (Repair order #------858----). After about 5 hours, including a "face to face" and the usual endless tests, I went to bed. Since I wasn't willing to spend another 20 hours on the phone I sent the machine back for a refund. Two bad machines in a row strains the credulity and the bounds of coincidence, but your people were merely sanguine about it all.

The original deal was that I gave HP a price they advertised and they gave me an operational Core i7 machine or they would come out and do an in-house repair. I felt cheated. I got my money back but lost 25+hours of my personal time. Hewlett Packard is a good example of a giant global faceless octopus of a company with ubiquitous advertising, cheap prices and shoddy rubbish products. One of the sales guys told me that if HP used American techs it would add $400 to each machine----so that's why Apples cost more?! Believe me Mr. Hurd, gone are the days I'll do business with HP again.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion Elite HPE-230F Desktop PC (Black)

Get serious about computing with the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-230f PC, a stylish, high-performance PC for your most demanding digital tasks. Premium performance levels enable an enhanced experience whether you’re working, e-mailing, editing photos or videos, gaming or connecting with friends online. The HP Pavilion Elite HPE-230f PC's flexibility and expandability let you add devices and features to support your growing needs. The elegant, chrome-accented design is sure to attract attention in any home décor.

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HP Pavilion Elite HPE-270F Desktop PC (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Instead of a review, I'm including an abridged version of a letter I sent to Mr Mark Hurd, the President of Hewlett Packard



Dear Mr. Hurd, On April 27 at 2 PM I received a Pavilion Elite Desktop that was defective and "dead in the box." I've been buying computers since 1992 and can accept this but not what followed. (Repair Order #803.........)
From 6 PM to midnight I talked to people in India whose English was barely intelligible making the process extremely difficult. They had me doing tests over and over and sitting on endless hold in between. This was incompetence. Around midnight I was asked to do a "System Restore?" and told by your Tech he would call back---he never did and I was to find that this is common.
On April 28, convinced that the problem was beyond the abilities of your offshore people and not wanting to go back to people I couldn't understand, who never called me back, and who put me on endless hold; I requested (per your guarantee) someone to make a housecall here in Seattle, which was denied. I tried to access American support to no avail and ended up calling Sales--at least they spoke English. They essentially told me "I was on my own" and I thought of the phrase--"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
On April 29 I got your Filipino station and repeated the same process for hours. One particularly grating aspect was listening ad nausea to your parroted message about being able to get home service while I languished on endless hold. This is deceptive and a rotten lie. My machine was brand new----a fact that wasn't even noticed by your techs until the third day. After 20 hrs of my personal time had been chewed up, the dead machine was finally pronounced unfit and carted back by FedEx on April 30.
On May 1, in one final exhaustive attempt to throw salt in my wounds, I received an email double charging me, and my Visa card was billed an extra $50 to boot. Come on Mr. Hurd, you are a great big Fortune 500 company, how hard is it to fix these things.....things I would expect if this was a David Packard startup in his Palo Alto garage. Best Regards A---- E----


Post Script---Yes there is a post script to all this. Hewlett-Packard again sent me a brand new machine---machine #2. After the initial setup, I couldn't get on the Internet. Once again I called your techs in India (Repair order #------858----). After about 5 hours, including a "face to face" and the usual endless tests, I went to bed. Since I wasn't willing to spend another 20 hours on the phone I sent the machine back for a refund. Two bad machines in a row strains the credulity and the bounds of coincidence, but your people were merely sanguine about it all.

The original deal was that I gave HP a price they advertised and they gave me an operational Core i7 machine or they would come out and do an in-house repair. I felt cheated. I got my money back but lost 25+hours of my personal time. Hewlett Packard is a good example of a giant global faceless octopus of a company with ubiquitous advertising, cheap prices and shoddy rubbish products. One of the sales guys told me that if HP used American techs it would add $400 to each machine----so that's why Apples cost more?! Believe me Mr. Hurd, gone are the days I'll do business with HP again.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion Elite HPE-270F Desktop PC (Black)

Get serious about computing with the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-270f PC, a stylish, high-performance PC for your most demanding digital tasks. Premium performance levels enable an enhanced experience whether you’re working, e-mailing, editing photos or videos, gaming or connecting with friends online. The HP Pavilion Elite HPE-270f PC's flexibility and expandability let you add devices and features to support your growing needs. The elegant, chrome-accented design is sure to attract attention in any home décor.

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HP TouchSmart 600-1155 All-in-One PC (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted to try a touchscreen in the kitchen area and this seemed to be the fastest available with the largest screen. I was always just grabbing the iPad to check email and calendar stuff but sometimes I couldn't find it, having left it somewhere else in the house. So now I have had the HP touchsmart for a month and I think it is very good but there is room for improvement. First, the screen is big and gorgeous. It is responsive and accurate for touch applications plus windows 7 and the processor is fast. It is quiet and boots rapidly which is key for me. The touch apps though are a mixed bag. The Calander app is a huge dissapointment since it is supposed to sync with google and it doesn't at all. It is a key component of why I got the computer so the family can share the calanders we all have and access everything. Maybe there will be an update? The recipe app is useful as it loads recipes you can find online. The notes app is ok as you can leave post it notes on the screen for others to see. The picture app is like Picasso from google with quick access to an online photo service. In comparison to the iPad, of course, the apps have a long way to go but Hp has taken a step in the right direction. I would pay $5 for apps for this Touchscreen if they were as good as the ones on the iPad I use everyday (like Calengoo, Informant, or some of the games). Maybe HP should have an app store for this? In any case, I am very happy with my purchase and would do it again. I looked at the Sony Vaio but didn't feel I needed to pay extra for the name and I am happy I didn't. Plus, the wireless connection worked perfectly out of the box and recognized my HP Printer upstairs immediately. Setup was a breeze and took 5 minutes max. Highly recommended if you want to try out a touchscreen desktop.

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Your world at your fingertips. Use your fingers to immerse yourself into your work and play. With natural intuitive movements everything you can do will be faster easier and way more fun. Zip around your PC with multi-touch gestures such as pinch rotate arc flick and press and drag. Includes many built-in touch-optimized applications including new Windows 7. Customize your touch interface as easily as you customize your desktop. Touchable calendar and browser help you stay organized. You can also play games video chat and more. Featuring NEW Apps like Paint It! by Corel and Roxio Cinema Now. Launch your favorite apps instantly from HP TouchSmart home. Experience some of the best of the web-like Hulu Netflix Twitter and Pandora-HP TouchSmart style. Transfer photos and images from a mobile phone via Bluetooth with HP TouchSmart Link. Watch pause rewind and record live TV with TouchSmart Live TV. Building on a heritage of industry firsts the third-generation HP TouchSmart PC combines the latest hardware and software in one elegant product. A recipe dictation and voice command enables you to create dishes from your favorite recipes step-by-step enabling truly hands-free operation. Create collages to save and share with a simple touch and even use voice control to zoom rotate and invert photos. Connect your Xbox Wii or Playstation through the HDMI or composite inputs. A slim power-saving design with a small footprint comes with everything you need built-in. Get the big picture with a 16:9 Full HD1080p widescreen. Watch Hollywood Blu-Ray and DVD movies or edit home video and burn your own. Video chat with friends and family using the built-in adjustable-tilt webcam and microphone. Watch pause rewind and record live TV. Simple set up: just plug in one power cord to get started. Low profile wireless keyboard conveniently stows away when not in use. Built in wireless capabilit

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Gateway FX6803-25 Desktop (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have searched for the computer (whether custom built or prebuilt) for 3 months. This one kept coming back to the top of the list again and again.
First, you need to know that Gateway and Acer are basically the same company, you find Acer all over the documentation from the box, to the documents to the computer itself.
If there was anything else I'd have wanted, it would be wireless connection - this does not have it, but there are many routers with USB hubs to server that purpose.
I agree with everyone, it is super quiet, occasionally when a drive cycles, you hear it, but otherwise you are pressed to know it is even on. I chose to turn off the Red accent lighting, I think it a little gimmicky.
My concerns over previous computers were many, I wanted something that HDMI connected to my HDTV without going through DVI's etc.. I think the Blueray player a nice feature although I likely won't use it except as a second drive which is always nice.
I watch a lot of TV shows streamed on the web (Hulu, Fancast, all the network stations) and wanted smooth frame rate - well I sure got it, as well as FLAWLESS 1080P content streaming on Youtube. Nothing ever appears below a 30 plus frame rate, so smooth is a mild word for the output.
On to gaming, I bought Crysis considering it is a benchmark on nearly any review site and at max res with EVERYTHING turned on, it is 100% a kickass experience.
I also am into video editing, a major factor in buying a machine - I bought Magix Movie Pro 16 and work at light speed with my Flip Cams 720p footage, I haven't tried anything higher res, but I feel secure it will handle it equally as well.
At $1425 or so, I don't think anything touches it. I customized a few computers online with the same specs. and every one came in around $1900 or more. A big plus is the 750 watt power supply, a lot of companies will give you the 1gig video card, but they don't offer anything over 500 watts.
So, I'm doing everything that I want a computer to do, the I7 with 9gigs RAM flies, the multi-threading and everything just passes stuff around lightning fast. The 1.5 terra-drive should last most people a long long time and 10 USB ports comes in handy, no need for hubs to slow you down.
Oh, the SD card reader is the HCSD reader, so I have 16gig SD cards and use it to move about 14 movies around my different machines - handy.
You are not likely to find a better PC for your money, but it is performance is where we all draw the line and this machine delivers. To do it over again, I would and that is the ultimate compliment to any purchase.
Oh... NOTE: this computer comes in its original box, it is NOT packaged in a discrete box. UPS tried to deliver it, but since I was not home, they weren't about to leave a box showing a monster gaming machine on the step. I drove the 10 miles to pick it up at UPS when the truck returned that night to their hub. So be there for it, or you may need to take a ride.
Beemaster

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Gateway FX6803: Gaming Supercomputer
With a streamlined racing car-like design complete with mesh venting inhale and red lighting effects, the Gateway FX6803-25 desktop computer provides a fantastic entertainment and gaming experience. It combines quad-core processing power via the Intel Core i7-930 with cutting edge graphics processing via the ATI Radeon HD 5850 graphics card with 1 GB of discrete video memory--perfect for visually rich apps and the most vivid DirectX 11 games. They're complemented by 9 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1.5 TB hard drive for maximum storage right out of the box.
The Gateway FX desktop PC with mesh venting inhale, red accents and red lighting effects for a racing car-like design.

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