Hp Pavilion a1230n Desktop PC (AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, LightScribe Dbl Layer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Drive)

by HP

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17 x 7.2 x 15 inches ; 24 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 33 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BC8VV2
• Item model number: EG134AA#ABA
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 9, 2005

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The HP Pavilion a1230n comes loaded with the all tools you need to easily create, manage, share, and enjoy your digital photos, home videos, movies, and music. It features a wide range of connectivity options for all your peripherals and preloaded HP Image Zone Plus photo editing and management software. It comes loaded with 1 GB of RAM, which can be bumped up to 4 GB, as well as a roomy 200 GB hard drive. It also features an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2 GHz processor, LightScribe multi-format DVD/CD burner, additional DVD-ROM drive, a 9-in-1 memory card reader that's compatible with today's most popular digital camera formats, and a wide assortment of pre-loaded software.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The large 200 GB Ultra DMA hard drive (7200 RPM) offers a wealth of storage space, perfect for storing a vast multimedia collection or for editing digital video.
  
• Processor: AMD's Athlon 64 3700+ processor is built for tomorrow's 64-bit applications, which will require a processor with significant power. This 2.2 GHz processor offers a system bus with speeds up to a blazing 2200 MHz and 512 KB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.) It includes such AMD features as HyperTransport Technology (which increases the communication between integrated circuits) and Cool'n'Quiet Technology that conserves power while also keeping the PC nicely quiet.
  
• Memory: The 1 GB of installed RAM (PC-3200, 2 x 512 MB) is a good start for this multimedia-centric desktop PC, so you'll want to take advantage of the ultra-roomy 4 GB of total RAM capacity (4 x 1 GB) for such multimedia needs as video editing and immersive 3D gaming.
  
• CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing technology, this multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer (DL) DVD+R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. It features 4x DVD-R DL Write Once, 2.4x DVD+R DL Write Once, 16x DVD+R, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD+RW, 4x DVD-RW, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, and 40x CD-ROM speeds. This desktop also comes with an additional 48x CD-ROM drive.
  
• Keyboard & Mouse: This desktop comes with an HP Internet keyboard and scroller mouse (both with PS/2 connections).

Screen, Graphics and Sound
Video is powered by the ATI Radeon XPress 200M IGP video/graphics card, which delivers good, though not high-end, 3D graphics and is designed to integrate with AMD's Athlon 64 processors. It delivers up to 256 MB of video RAM shared with the system RAM. ATI's HyperMemory technology allows the chipset to run in either Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) mode or with dedicated frame buffer memory to enhance graphics performance. It's the first chipset with a graphics processor that let you play the latest game titles on DirectX 9 and OpenGL technology. It also features an integrated audio card and headphone, microphone, and line-in jacks.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
For expansion, the a1230n has two 5.25-inch external bays (one available), two external 3.5-inch bays (one available), one internal 3.5-inch bay (occupied), three PCI slots (two available), and one PCI Express slot (available). It comes with the following external connectors:

• 7 USB 2.0 ports (3 in front, 4 in rear) for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 2 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (1 front, 1 back)
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 microphone, 1 headphone
• 1 line-out, and 1 line-in jack
• 9-in-1 media card reader on the front, compatible with CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick/Memory Stick Pro, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, and XD Picture Card

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (with Service Pack 2) is essentially Windows XP Professional Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide shows. Additionally, it enables you to control your television with the included remote and record and pause programs (much like a DVR--or digital video recorder--such as Tivo or ReplayTV). It's compatible with cable, digital cable, satellite TV and antenna inputs, and it includes an FM tuner.

It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents), Symantec Norton Internet Security 2005 (with 60 days of LiveUpdate), Encarta Encyclopedia 2005, Quicken New User Edition 2005, Microsoft Money 2005, RecordNow, WinDVD Player, Sonic DigitalMedia Plus, muvee AutoProducer, iTunes, and PC Doctor.

The included HP Image Zone Plus photo and imaging software makes it easy to organize, edit, share, print, protect, and store your photos and video clips. Organize and find your photos easily by timeline, keywords, and/or location using the unique photo-globe mapping tool. Remove red eye and fix other common problems. Share your photos quickly via e-mails that include thumbnails with links to the full-sized images--without downloading time-consuming attachments.

Dimensions and Weight
This desktop PC measures 15.2 x 7.2 x 17 inches (HxWxD) and weighs approximately 24 pounds.

What's in the Box
This package contains the HP Pavilion a1230n desktop PC, power cable, keyboard, and mouse. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase as well as technical telephone assistance for one year. Software is also covered for 90 days from date of purchase.

Product Description

Searching for a better desktop PC to help make your life easier? With its 2.2GHz processor, Windows XP Media Center, spacious hard drive, and double-layer LightScribe drive, the Pavilion a1230n could be your solution.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average Performance, November 18, 2005

By 

A. Remington "nameyou'vechosenalreadytaken" (Land of The Shining Corn) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hp Pavilion a1230n Desktop PC (AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, LightScribe Dbl Layer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

I expected more from an AMD processor. I've had it crash out to a white screen and other variations when performing several simple tasks at the same time. The slots for memory cards are great. It saves a step in having to search for a high speed USB reader and is even better if you have two different sized memory cards. I've been satisfied with the CD burner but had to search to find a solution for the DVD burner. The Sonic software it came with had missing dll's. An update is available from the HP website but I went through alot to get that figured out. Another complaint I had was that some software such as Norton security were only trial editions which is kind of deceptive since a selling point is that some softwares come loaded in and ready to go. Media Center is so-so. I don't use it as much I thought I would. There are alot of other more comprehensive programs out there that cover the same tasks.

It's fast and has alot of room which is important to those of us who store alot of images on our hard drive even temporarily.

I bought mine at CompUSA with a service warranty. Their repair department is very competent and busy. Forget the rebate they advertise. I've had a big problem getting mine back and have read about many others with the same problem. Amazon has the best deal on this I've seen so far.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I give the HP a1230n one-half notch above mediocre..., June 27, 2006

By 

J. Scribner "Rocky Rode" (Santa Rosa, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hp Pavilion a1230n Desktop PC (AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, LightScribe Dbl Layer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

I bought the a1230n for about 875.00 (not incl. monitor) in Sept '05. I give it a hlaf notch above mediocre. Solid cabinet, separare DVD/CD drive bays, handy audio jacks in the front, 4 USB jacks. MD processor is suppose to be better for multi-media.. hmmm. Replaced the chinsey keyboard/mouse included in the package. I grew up in HP territory, the once thriving giant HP comlex is now a ghost town. Almost all design/assebly is outsourced now, this unit assembled in China. Whould I buy it again knowing what I know now ... naah.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good overall, but at this price expected more, February 23, 2006

By 

TanyaBw - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hp Pavilion a1230n Desktop PC (AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, LightScribe Dbl Layer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

HP has good reliable pcs which is saying a lot considering the amount of junk out there. Still with basic cpus selling under $400 I expect a lot more for the extra dough. The dvd drive can be testy, meaning it may or not work. I've had trouble w/ other drives and disk burning hardware is not as reliable as the old floppy drives. The speed seems fine and I didn't experience slow down on word processing. I like to edit video so the memory and processing have proved to be sufficient. It isn't a super computer but it does the job.