Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion A6152N Desktop PC (Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600, 3 GB RAM, 400 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This PC offers a great bang for the buck, but naturally some compromises had to be made to create a bargain. Amazon's description is a bit thin and there are no other reviews yet, so I'm offering this info for anybody who might need it. Meanwhile, great thanks to MonsDomain for those photos!

I've been shopping the various HP quad-core offerings lately, and I haven't yet decided whether to buy this one. But based on comparisons to its peers, I would rate it five stars for its cost-effectiveness, minus one star partly for the cramped interior and other technical limitations, and partly in case there are other flaws one can't foresee.

This is based on an Asus motherboard, uniquely coded by HP as "Berkeley-GL8E." It uses the Intel G33 Express Chipset, and the installed memory speed is 667MHz. It has a full set of LAN, USB, Firewire, and memory card connectors, like the other Pavilion Media Center models.

Unlike those others, there is no TV tuner, and the "stock" video is integrated (built into the motherboard). Also unlike those others, there is no unused PCI slot available. But there are PCI Express slots available, including one at 16X if one wanted to add a better video card.

One of the more important, and surprising, details according to the HP website is that it specifies at TWO year warranty on hardware parts and labor. There is a one-year limit on telephone tech support, but it is surprising to see such a long hardware warranty.

HOWEVER, I would *strongly* suggest confirming this with Amazon before assuming anything. Conceivably, one gets a longer warranty when buying direct from HP, where I got this information. If one gets the same warranty from retailers like Amazon, then it's pretty impressive.

I've also been looking into Dell lately, and they seem to be lagging on the implementation of these quad-core chips into their product lines, *especially* in prebuilt systems like this one. So, this looks like quite a deal for the moment.

P.S. On another site, a user reported that the stock power supply in this computer is 300 watts. That info is not available on HP's spec sheet for the computer (go figure!), so one has to decide whether to trust some stranger on the internet for this data. It sounds right, though. None of the comparable low-price HP systems have power supplies beyond 300-350 watts.

300 watts is not a lot these days, but this new Intel chipset is designed for energy efficiency, and there isn't much else in the box. So 300w is probably enough for many add-on graphics cards. Do some research on a card you are considering, before assuming that you have to perform surgery on the PS. In case you do, another user here has posted great pictures of such a procedure to add a high-end Nvidia card.

Recently purchased this machine, mainly for the Core Duo Q6600 CPU. The machine is an excellent value. The mother board is the IPIBL-LA built by Asus. The cpu performs very fast and the machine runs cool (after 5 hours tests with sever applications running and transferring data between the interal harddrvie and an external hard drive, the computer was still cooler than my LCD monitor) and the machine runs very quiet, upon boot up, the two fans spin loudly for about 3 seconds, other than than that, no noise from the machine (the machine is located next to my monitor on a desk, not on a floor, so I would notice any additional noise). Upgrades are easy, a thumb screw holds the side panel in place and the PCI-E slot is located towards the middle of the mother board, allowing for large amount of air movement around what ever video card you choose to install. But, be warned, there is only 1 PCI slot, and that is occupied by the modem. You could remove it and put a different card in. The power supply is 300 watts. Also, there is no parallel port, those with older model printers will need a USB to Parallel adapter or get a PCI-E 1x parallel card for one of the two open PCI-E 1x slots. The built in Intel G33 video on the motherbaord is powerful enough for Vista's Aero interface and runs smoothly on this machine, but for any high end gaming, you will need to upgrade, but buy a good card (GT8600 or ATI HD2600) on the PCI-E slot because the overhead of Vista is too much for older cards and you should be prepared for DX10. I took an ATI X1300 PCI card out of my old computer to test it out on this machine, no good - the Aero interface runs slow and scrolling drags on. The built in audio is good, but only as good as the speakers you connect to it. The digital audio output sounds great if hooked up to stereo via coax input (RCA plug) but the 1/8" audio jack is cut off when connected. You might need to use the Windows XP compatibility mode on certain older programs. Programs run very fast. HP built a very good machine, better than their older media centers which I needed to replace (hot cpu, noisy fans and harddrive, no pci slot, extremely crowded interior). My only complaint (other than the lack of PCI slots) is the collection of programs installed on the machince which are mostly useless, I wish HP would offer the option of just installing a raw operating system with no applications. As for the warranty, 1 year, through HP.

PROs: This is a great deal. I bought it last week and have had no problems with it at all. I was able to easily take out the Power Supply (300W) and replace it with a 700W RocketFish powersupply. Very easy procedure. In addition, I added a PCI-e NVIDIA 8800 GT Graphics card and everything fit perfectly. Now the Vista Index went from a 3.3 to a 5.3. This machine really flys. For a gamer this is the route to go. For others, the machine as-is works great. Since you have quad-processors, even a locked program doesn't halt the O/S because they're on different processors. The onboard sound has surround sound which has so far impressed me and with 3 GB RAM, Vista Premium and a 400 GB Hard Drive, this computer should stay up-to-speed for many years. I really like the low-power mode which basically is like a super-hibernate mode except that it wakes up faster than turning on your TV. Very nice. The photo doesn't show it, but the very bottom flap opens up to reveal headphone/mic jacks and also 2 more USB ports and a firewire port. There are also the same on the back of the machine. Also, it is remarkably quiet. It is literally 1/4 as loud as my previous machine. You hardly know it is on. Again, a big plus. Also, the DVD is LightScribe so you have that as an added bonus. Overall, just a great powerful machine for a good price. Plus you have HP to stand behind it.
CONs: For some reason HP decided to put a modem in the only PCI slot. It can easily be taken out, but it seemed strange to include it. In the old days I would've been concerned about only 1 PCI slot, but with everything external USB 2.0 now anyway, I don't see it as an issue.

After spending 7 years with Dell Dimension 4100 series (that old beige box everyone has seen from somewhere), I decided that the time is right for me to move on to faster, something less restricting.
After trying it for 4 days, fiddling it for no less than 10 hours a day, this is what I've learned so far:

1. Power Supply in this PC is rated at 300W. Remove the side panel, and PSU will tell you on small letters.
2. It's very quiet, so much so that puts my old PC sounding like a jet taking off. However, if you are in a quiet room, you will hear occasional resonance from two fans (one on CPU, one on rear, those are closely located to each other).
3. Be sure to make a recover disc before you do anything. Guide pg.28 has the instruction on how-to. It requires either 2 DVDs, or 14 CDs.
4. Should you decide to install a TV-Tuner card (I did), be very careful. Cable bundle resides right behind PCI slot (initially occupied by Modem) is hard to move around, so you might have to disconnect few cables in order to install new card, then replug them back in.
5. Front panel, pretty to look at, easy to dirty them with your finger prints.
6. Keyboard included are great, if you like how laptop keyboard feels. Otherwise, it's downright terrible.
7. Mouse is mechanical one, good for gamers, so-so for casual users.
8. Amazing performer. I could watch 1080p/h.264 encoded content without skipping a beat while running Windows Defender. Simply amazing.
9. Windows Vista is buggy. I have encountered 4 BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) already. 3 times while trying to install a program (made for Vista), and 1 time for unknown reason. Sometimes, when a program hangs, you can't seem to kill it even with task manager.
So many things have been tinkered with for good or for worse, so those who are used to XP will best be prepared for some rocky transition.
On a positive note, visuals are eye catcher.
HP shouldn't be held responsible for Vista acting naughty, so I am placing my hope that Service Pack 1 will provide much needed cure.

I bought this machine as my primary home desktop - to deal with everyday email and stuff as well as to keep and manage my photo collection, and later on my home-made movies. So far, I am happy.
Pros: Cheap for the computing power, amount of memory, and storage space.
Cons: Integrated graphics which is the biggest factor dragging down the overall Vista's performance rating (PCI Express slot for a future standalone video adapter is available though). Only one PCI slot (which is also occupied with an unneeded modem). Also, wish it were available with XP - it would then fly like a rocket!
Given it five stars anyway as I got what I expected.

Had the system for a week now and wanted to share some thoughts. System is very fast even running a resource hog like vista. Some here have complained about the power supply included. I ordered a new 8800gts card for this computer, but until it arrived I used my old 6800extreme card with the stock power supply. Had no problems. Ran everything I threw at it. I think alot of people get caught up in the wattage rating, and don't really understand power supplies. This power supply only puts out 300 watts, but 23amps on the 12 volt line. That is enough for most video cards on the market. Like I said it had no problem running my video card with the latest games cranked all the way up. I did however get a larger power supply for the 8800 card simply because I didn't want to take any chances as they recommend a 400 watt power supply with a 25 amp rating.
Anyway, so far extremely satisfied with the computer. Vista is another matter all together.. the backup failed, transfering my files/setting from my other computer failed. Vista has a long way to go, although I haven't had any game related problems yet. So far I have tried, company of heroes, supreme commander, doom3, quake4, total annihilation, dawn of war, halo, far cry, and tomb raider anniversary with no problems at all.
Again, a great system at a great price. The HP w1904(I think) monitor came with it and it looks outstanding.

Bought this in the late fall. Really liked the performance, but in mid January it failed to even do the power on self test (POST). Spent an hour on the phone to support before they would tell me what I already knew... it had to go back to HP for repair. Estimate was 10 days to get it back. Then got an email saying they were waiting on a part and the new time estimate is closer to a month. Needless to say I'm not too happy.

This system looks like a good pre-packaged deal but neither Amazon nor HP could give me any information about the warranty. Amazon customer service said they offer only the 30 day warranty. When I called HP at the number Amazon gave me, the HP rep told me that he had no information on this model and implied that no warranty would be provided by HP. He tried to sell me an A6150Y which does not offer a quad procesor otion, telling me it was a better and more recent system. It is quite an experience to get the hard sale in what was for me an impenetrable accent (and I've lived with students from India). He finally transferred me to the HP factory where it appeared that HP could sell me a comparable quad system for a lot more money. If a purchaser of this system would post the warranty informatoin that comes with the system, that would be exceedlingly helpful to me and other potential purchasers. Soon if possile, the rebate period lasts only a couple more weeks. Thanks for your indulgence....

I bought it yesterday at CC for a decent price. I haven't used it yet, but the spec seems to kick some serious butt. One thing disappointed me at first sight is this comp is almost all Chinese-made (box, case, HDD, PSU, fan...). I doubt about a Chinese processor tho LOL. I opened the case (really easy, only 1 screw!), and the HDD is made-in-China Hitachi. Now, when it comes to delicate stuff like HDD, which will contain tons of my precious data, I'm really brand- and made-in-xxx concious. My prefered brand has always been WD, and secondly is Maxtor. Seagate died on me once after only 5 months of use in another comp, so I kinda staying away from that brand for some time. Even with WD, which I have several and none has crashed on me yet, I prefered Thailand-made to Malaysia-made. If you check for reviews on Amazon for a couple of WD MyBook exHDD models, you will read something like that. Maybe, I'm gonna add another WD Sata HDD for storage.
The case is good to look at but gets dirty easily due to the glossy plate. Something about it and its component, design... looks a bit cheesy to me. My old Sony Vaio was made in USA with foreign components and I really likes the look and feel of it inside and outside the case. The arrangement inside the case is brilliant. Components are from names that you know: WD, Samsung... While inside this HP, it looks pretty cramped. The only name I know is Hitachi. 300W PSU is LITE-ON (not impressed with their optical drives). The HDD stands up in a metal frame, and it seems you have to take that frame out to add another HDD.
Oh, and beside the comp, mouse (wheeled), and keyboard, there is a free phone cable in the box also. Quadcore on Dial-up? Thoughtful, aren't ya, HP?
The optical DVD drive is SATA connected, and there is an expansion bay. Don't worry, there is a PATA connection on Mboard for PATA drive. HP Pocket Drive is pretty useless for me (who needs it when there are HDD specialist WD out there?). Would rather have a floppy drive instead!
Anyway, with all the spec, the value is right. Chinese stuffs are cheap! Durability is another thing, but with the name HP on the case, it should not be cheesy.

I have had this system for over 3 years and have to say I have been more than satisfied. First, my old XP PC was unstable from day one. This system has been unbelievably stable. So much so that I hate to even use the Win/Updates, but I do. I have the DVD to install Win 7 but it runs so flawlessly that it is still in the file cabinet. I have taken out the power sup and replaced it with a 500W. I took out the part that was a portable media storage thing and replaced it with a floppy disk. I installed a middle priced video card. I have not had any of the issues mentioned in other reviews here. It may smoke later today but it has so far been the best system anyone in our family has owned.