HP Pavilion M8530F Desktop PC (2.2 GHz AMD Phenom X4 9550 Quad Core Processor, 5 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
The HP pavilion Media Center Desktop PC is designed and built for you digital life. Take control of your digital entertainment with a PC that helps you consolidate, organize, and play your favorite movies, music, photos and videos. With AMD Phenom processor you get true multi-core solutions for a new dimension in performance that delivers an exquisitely powerful, intensely visual and strikingly efficient computing experience. With the front-panel 15-in-1 memory card reader it makes it easier to transfer photos, music and other files to and from your digital camera and other peripheral devices. The SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe technology lets you create custom, silkscreen-quality labels and artwork directly onto LightScribe-enabled CD and DVD discs. Enjoy amazing graphics with the nVidia GeForce 9300 HD graphics card with 256MB dedicated graphics memory, DVI and HDMI capabilities with support for Microsoft DirectX. NVIDIA GeForce 9300GE Hybrid SLI Technology with 256MB dedicated with up to 1919MB Shared Graphics Memory LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+-R/RW with Double Layer High Definition Audio, 8 speaker configurable 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet LAN 15-in-1 card reader Front ports - 2 x USB, IEEE 1394, Audio Left/Right-in Back ports - 4 x USB, IEEE 1394, 2 x PS2 ports (keyboard, mouse), Headphone, Microphone, Digital Audio Out, Microphone/Line-in/Line-out, Rear speaker-out, Side speaker out, Center (subwoofer), RJ-45 (LAN), RJ-11 (Modem), DVI, HDMI Expansion slots - 3 x PCI Express x1 (two available), 1 x PCI Express x16 (occupied) Drive bays - 2 x external 5.25 (one available), 1 x external 3.5? (occupied), 2 x internal 3.5 (one available) Monitor is not included
HP Pavilion M8530F Desktop PC (2.2 GHz AMD Phenom X4 9550 Quad Core Processor, 5 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Accessories
HP Pavilion M8530F Desktop PC (2.2 GHz AMD Phenom X4 9550 Quad Core Processor, 5 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Reviews
Easily solved by picking up an adapter. So far this is the prime con. Not recommended for hardcore gamers. Running a somewhat lower resolution and slightly downtweaking the quality I pull 30 (bright areas) to 60 (dark areas) frames per second constantly. I am not very comfortable having a very flimsy disk protruding where it could possibly get easily damaged. 4) This is more serious nitpick.
64-bit Internet Explorer is noticeably outperforming both Firefox and Chrome. 1) Video card is a little weak. Even running the video card as hot as I could this machine puts out less decibels than my ps3 (which is very quiet). 3) No install discs. Lowest I dropped to tonight was 29fps and that was with a LOT of screen clutter plus multiple programs running in the background. My other readers accept the card fully and have an eject function. Now for the pros:. The card is incredibly quiet (my guess is heatsinks rather than fans).
3) The video card is respectable. While I wouldn't recommend the card for Crysis, I have been able to consistently get 20 frames per second out of World of Warcraft running 1980x1050dpi (and high quality) on a 42" screen. The media reader does not fully accept SD cards (they only go in about half way and hang out). 2) No wireless networking. The pros outweigh the cons. However, see below for the video card pro. For casual users you just can't beat the bang-for-your-buck value.
1) Vista 64-bit is incredibly fast when you have this much machine. First the cons:.
I highly recommend this machine. Even for hardcore gamers you are not likely to find that much processor/ram for the price and it is relatively easy to replace the video card (with a 9800gtx+) and increase the power supply.
I just finished getting everything tweaked the way I want it and I am mightily impressed with this machine. 2) This machine is whisper quiet.
It has native HDMI support (although I had to connect via DVI-RGB and tell the computer to output to HDMI before getting signal). A minor nitpick since I do not place my computer near my router.
The hard drive has a recovery partition in case you need to recover, however, I would much prefer physical copies of the OS.
Now on the second machine, after three months, after I've migrated all my pictures, music, movies, and programs. it's done it again. nothing. (Power supply comes on, optical drives spin up, two ticks off of the hard drive light, and. The first machine I bought was dead after the second boot. Apple, I'm comin' to see you. I had a similar problem at first. No BIOS message, no HP recovery selection screen, and WILL NOT recognize a recovery disc when installed).
I had it replaced, and the second one worked like a charm (so far). With extra PCI slots, many USB ports, and spots for an additional hard drive and optical drive, I should be able to keep this PC up-to-date for many years. With such sensitive electronics these days, I guess a dud now and then is just going to be the norm. The first one was online for about 3 days before the motherboard-integrated LAN connection just died for no apparent reason. I couldn't find any similarly-equipped HP computer within several hundred dollars of this price anywhere. Quad core, 3/4 terrabyte hard drive, nVidia 9-series video, and every jack imaginable. Anyway, this is a lot of computer for the price ($750 when I bought it). It took two of them before I got one that worked.
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