Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Bang For Your Buck, January 28, 2009
I am typically a build your own PC guy. A friend purchased this system and I tried it out. I was amazed at how much capability this computer had for it's low price. I purchased it myself and have been using it for a couple months now, it handles just about any game on high settings. I was able to play Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4 and Fallout 3 on full settings no problem. The only down side I found with this machine was the video card.
The ATI Radeon HD 3650 might be a capable card; but, it doesn't even come close to what the top cards out there can do. Luckily I was able to upgrade that easily, to a Radeon HD 4850 and fix that little problem. Also if you plan on having video upgrades, this computer only has a 300Watt power supply; so, you'll need to upgrade that along with any video upgrades. The power supply is also an easy upgrade with the case being used.
It runs both cool and quiet, so you won't have to worry about it giving you heat stroke or hearing problems. With the 64-bit Vista you will be getting more out of the 8 Gigs of RAM than you would with 32-Bit Vista or XP. The only down side to this is some older XP compatible software doesn't acknowledge all that RAM being used and it doesn't know how to handle more than about 3 Gigs. As long as you stick with recent software it shouldn't be an issue at all. I've personally only had a problem once because of it; but, I quickly found a patch for that program to fix it.
This was the first PC I haven't built myself in years; so, I can tell you its well worth it, especially if you were having concerns about being able to install upgrades on an HP.
Any other questions about this please feel free to write me.
|
|
|
12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well thought out, February 11, 2009
When I started using computers (before DOS was invented, and LONG before graphical interfaces)computers were simply a box that sat there and did nothing until you put in a program disk and typed in a command. One put in different program disks for different purposes, and the results were written to a second disk (no hard drive.) Actually there was seldom a system crash in those days. Dos and hard drives opened up crash possibilities and huge manuals were written to tell the users all the commands that could be typed in to the operating system. Then, along came Microsoft and Windows. The rest is history.
I prefaced this review with that bit of history because computers have changed in more ways than the graphical interface. The whole concept changed so subtly that we didn't notice when it happened. Now programs (called applications these days) seamlessly integrate, not just with the computer. They are integrated with one another and the operating system and the outside world. Even if they crash, they are self healing.
So now we come down to this HP. This computer arrived packed better and more conveniently than any other I ever had. Lots of thought went into the packing. The connections are very convenient and practical. There is a sort of clip on the top to funnel some cords through to keep things tidy, and there are many different connections that are easy to reach on the front. The operating system is 64 bit Vista. Remember I have said that these days operating system and computer are a unified whole. I am a little too opinionated for Microsoft. I have always used Eudora as my mail program, and I finally gave up trying to get that to work on the new computer. (Whether that is the fault of my satellite Internet provider or Vista, I don't know. It worked with the satellite provider and XP on my previous computer.) Microsoft Mail (preloaded on this computer) somehow lost the command at the top of the screen for me to add contacts. I spent a couple of hours looking at FAQs before calling Microsoft. They asked if it was a new computer. When I said "yes," they told me to call the manufacturer. Uh oh. This sounded like an old fashioned runaround. Imagine my surprise when my email to HP was promptly answered with a clear set of instructions on how to get the command back. (I still have no idea why it periodically disappears, but I can get it back.) Interestingly that contact list turned up in my Works contact list too. Works comes preloaded. I use Word Perfect generally, but the Works Data Base is wonderfully convenient. Although I use Explorer once in a while when a web page won't work with Opera, I use Opera as my default browser. Its screen is more intuitive and less cluttered, and it is much faster than Explorer. I downloaded the most up to date version of Opera for use with Vista.
On the whole, I have had to get new programs - er - applications - to work with 64 bit Vista. I also had to call my Internet provider to get settings to make it work. The perfectly good scanner I previously owned wouldn't work with Vista. You will need to make phone calls to support people to get settings for several situations.
The computer works fine. It has a mind of its own and does various maintenance things without being asked to. Because there is so much memory and it is so fast, this doesn't interfere with what I am doing. I love the "self healing" feature of new computers. In earlier versions of Windows I kept the command prompt shortcut on my desk top so I could get to the system to fix things quickly. Even with XP that was no longer necessary.
The filing system on this new computer makes all my files hard to find and slows me down. And the "search" feature is awful. There is no place to fill in details of what you are looking for until after the computer hasn't found it looking "everywhere" (not defined.)
The computer comes without a manual. (Remember the days when there were manuals for the computer, the operating system, and all the programs?) If it had a manual, I might have been able to discover more about the file system. Also, there are several slots on the front that have acronyms and initials on them, but I have found no information about what to do with them.
The bottom line: a well thought out well integrated computer with good applications and good technical customer service (for the simple things at least.) The biggest drawbacks are the shortage of manuals and the search feature interface.
|
|
|
0 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
make sure, January 14, 2009
this is what you want because I was waiting for something more but still is a good product just in the box and the advertisement say something else when I open is no was it shows is allot less special the outputs and inputs and is a little noisy, is OK.
|
|
|
|
