Design:

System Box - Internal view:

The Raptor Signature Edition Desktop PC comes in a larger version of Velocity Micro’s Signature case, in a correct fit design. Hence, this box is made for large graphics cards like ATI Radeon HD 5970 or the Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 480 card. The design is so spell bound that it could simply lure you towards it even if you do not want to. The case is not like the conventionally sealed ones. It has a windowed case door that lets you see the internals, which consists of three massive graphics cards, cooler for the speedy Intel Core i7 980X processor inside. So, this is one design that would not sit in the back seat. If you are a teenager, and would like to show off in front of your friends then you can proudly do so as this is one among the few that captures your attention immediately. The beauty of this product could be described as a cross between the flashiness found in Alienware Area 51 and the minimalism of Maingear Shift.

Wheel kit:

Apart from the above said features, you also have rollers beneath the case that gives it a characteristic mobility. This lets you move the system from under a desk on a carpeted floor to a desk on the top, through an inclined floor. The rollers are very smooth and therefore, roll easily on a smooth and flat surface. You could keep them or drop the plans, if you are planning to show off by keeping the machine on a table or desk. This is because; retaining the wheels, while on a table might give your system a two feet fall which could even pop your heart to your mouth.

Case lights:

While shipping, you have options for including case lights in your product. Case lightings involve the use of cold cathode, an element used in gas discharge lamps and vacuum tubes. This has become quite popular an element for LCD backlighting and computer case modifiers. In this edition you have options to include single blue cold cathode chassis kit or a double blue cold cathode chassis kit. The double would almost cost you double that of the single chassis.

Hand assembly:

One peculiarity of this product is that, it is made with a master crafted hand assembly, with all wires clipped and tucked with care. Parts included are of the finest quality and seems as if the makers have been obsessed with perfection as not even a single detail has been left untouched.

Ports And Connectivity:

This Velocity Micro Raptor Signature Edition Gaming Desktop PC is full of features which is generalised here. First are the connectivity which come in the form of ten USB 2.0 ports, FireWire ports, digital and analog audio input output ports. The three Geforce cards have around six DVI ports, plus three mini HDMI jacks which will connect to an HDTV through an adapter, eSATA port that would be essential for a high end desktop. The hard disk drive is about 3.5 inches and also there is an optical drive. Also, comes the three free system memory DIMM slots which occupy the remaining internal space. The signature edition comes with a 128GB solid state drive that is of a spooking size.

Features:

Tesla based supercomputers:

A special note of mention can be given to the Tesla based supercomputers. Before unfurling its features, it would be handy to know the discrete terms. Well, supercomputer is a computer that is known for its current processing capacity, and speedy calculations. Its internal architecture is of a very different make when compared to the conventional computers which comes with a Von Neumann architecture. Velocity micros designed these supercomputers with Tesla GPU. Tesla GPU is NVIDIA’s third brand of GPU’s. GPU’s handle computations for computer graphics which traditionally was handled by CPUs, made possible by rendering to higher precision arithmetic to pipelines.  In short, Velocity micro is on the list of system builders who display the latest technology in its desktops.

GeForce GTX 480:

In case of Raptor Signature Edition the technology used is the GeForce GTX 480 which approximates to be three times Nvidia’s new GeForce GTX 480 cards. Give them the toughest 3D game tests this products still stands out to give you a steady frame rate mind you, in the highest settings.

Price on high end too:

What is inside is amazing and truly hard to believe. It has an over clocked 6 core CPU and tons of I/O ports.  It has a meticulous hand assembly and a high precision cable routing, and has been rigorously tested and benchmarked. Also, comes the individual system performance tuning and updates, personalised owners portfolio for the system, along with complete component documentation and driver disks.  The making of this system includes nearly one week of hand wiring, tuning, testing by senior engineers. This can be regarded as a major reason for its premium level performance and also its heavy price tag. It does cost you but surely it is worth if you crave for highest level of performance on gaming for example: playing Crysis in its highest resolution and highest graphics mode. Still in a fix to buy this product? Hop on further and make up your mind.

Memory:

The next big thing after the processor is the memory which includes both primary or short term memory or RAM and secondary or permanent or hard disks. This edition from the velocity micro comes equipped with an impressive 6GB DDR3. It is not only the size that matters, as take a look this comes with a triple channel memory with heat spreader technology. Velocity micro makers use only top quality memory sticks and do not believe in cutting the corners by just adopting memory for the sake of memory.  The 6GB RAM is in the form of three 2GB pieces. You can upgrade to double the present amount by substituting three 4GB sticks. The hard disk is very massive and the bay is about 3.5 inch. This storage gives you wide variety of options. It starts with a 1TB SATA 300 drive running at 7,200 RPM’s and features a cache of 16MB. You can also increase your storage up to 2 TB and the RPM’s to 10,000 per minute.  You also have options for solid state drives or secondary hard disks. Top configuration would be 320GB storage which comes as four 80GB Intel X25-M SATA solid state drives.

Processor:

This Raptor Signature Edition edition of velocity micro comes with an over clocked CPU. It is powered by a fast and latest release of Intel’s core processor’s, the i7. Here we have the i7 Extreme Edition 975 CPU. It is a quad core processor that comes with a sizzling 3.2GHZ clock which could be increased or over clocked to 3.33 GHZ. Also it is featured with 8MB Intel Smart Cache. This CPU comes with the latest Turbo Boost technology due to which even a single core can attain a speed of 3.6GHZ. The multi cores provides around eight simultaneous threads and HT technology maximises multitasking capabilities.  The CPU’s and graphics card needs to be cooled down because a lot of thermal activity occurs when the processor runs at such high frequencies. Hence, here we have system cooling provided by Liqui Cool4 Advanced Thermal Electric cooling system. This liquid cooling provides a better efficiency compared to common air cooled options.

Mother board:

The motherboard used here is the EVGA X58 FTW3. It comes with an ATX form factor. The Central processing unit is powered by an 8 phase standard VRM, which is wired to six DDR3 slots for triple channel memory support.  It has a heat sink that is larger in size compared to normal sinks. The slant it has allows clearance to large CPU coolers.  The expansion slots comes in the form of three PCI express 2.0×16 which supports ATI CrossFireX, 2 way  and a three way SLI. The connectives include two SATA 6Gb/s and six 3Gb/s ports, 8 channel audio, two USB 3.0 and 8 USB 2.0 ports plus, support for two gigabit Ethernet controllers and EVBot OC module.

Video and Audio:

A true gaming system is one that should not compromise on the video cards and audio. So, in effect the video and audio are very significant. The Raptor’s standard comes with a 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 along with a super high bandwidth GDDR5 memory due to which it gives you a top notch video quality and superb gaming experience. It also supports DirectX 11. With video cards you have the upgrade option. You can have your graphics card upgraded to 1.7GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 for even better mind blowing speed rates and high quality 3D graphics. You could also upgrade with two 1GB Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 cards, 2 two GB Radeon HD4870 X2 GDDR5 cards, or with two 1792 NVIDIA Geforce GTX 295 cards in SLI. This is one of the ultimate dual video card configurations you could have.  With this card graphics come to reality you would never imagine.  The High definition 7.1 channel surround sound is bonded into the mother board. For an excellent audio performance augment the Creative Labs SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer audio card.

Optical drivers:

The Velocity Micro Raptor Signature Edition Gaming PC  is equipped with a 20X DVD+/-RW burner which has LightScribe labelling capability. A 1000 watt power supply is the standard for this computer. This could be upgraded with a 1200watt, an option for users who want to upgrade.  Along with it come other accessories like Blu ray reader/Dual layer DVD burner, along with DVD ROM/CD RW combo drive.  You could find some extra trial programs like Office Trial missing. These programs are called the bloat ware. It comes packed with a Razer Lycosa USB keyboard and Razer Deathadder mouse. The keyboard switches its backlit on when it detects the game loading.  These are the general features you could find.

Operating System:

The operating system used is Windows 7 64 bit Home premium, which unlike Vista is more focused of being compatible with applications and hardware with which Vista was already compatible. More focus has been on multi touch support and on redesigning the Windows Shell with a new taskbar called superbar, along with a home networking system called Home group.  Some standard applications like Windows calendar, Windows mail, windows Movie Maker, Windows photo gallery have been excluded.

Software:

Velocity micro appears a little pale when it comes to software part, with the absence of some tweaking easy to use features. They have included a twelve month or one year subscription to McAfee Antivirus and to various other media editing and disc burning programs. They could have added some customised applications as found in the Widow PC’s software bundles. In these packages, you could find everything organised as groups that makes it easy to locate. Their absence in this edition is not a complete let down but, these easy to implement methods are the ones that would hit the bull’s eye in terms of customer market. Above all the price tag is a bit fag and makes you prefer Widow PC’s applications.

Connectivity:

The network adapter is an integrated gigabit Ethernet adapter of 10 or 100 or 1000 MBps. You have options to include 802.11n PCI Wifi adapter, Dlink Wireless N150 home router, two integrated IEEE 1394 fire wire ports, ten USB2.0 ports two at the front and eight at the rear. You also have provision for including a blu tooth receiver namely the USB 2.0 Blu tooth receiver.

Power supply:

The power supply comes with a 1000W and 1500W Corsair power supply. The 1000W Corsair comes with both 6 pin and 8 pin compatibilities. It features six PCI Express connectors, connectors for dual CPU configurations. The dual transformer allows proper load balancing assuring stability and better performance. The strong internal electronics played by the industrial grade 105 degree primary secondary and solid state capacitors have a strong role in providing four times the lifespan of its traditional components.   It gives you 80 percent efficiency and therefore is able to run cool and quiet with a single fan.

Performance:

Gaming:
What would you expect from a gaming system? Ultimate and uncompromised performance, especially if you are a crazy cart gamer. The Velocity Micro makers have ensured that. Unambiguously, this Raptor Signature Edition is a true gaming system. It has finished the toughest of tests with flying colours. For instance, it has finished the Media Encoder test and Photoshop CS4 test in a split timing of 33 and 46 seconds respectively.  The best results expected from these tests were a timing less than 60 seconds, which Velocity Micro Raptor Signature edition surpasses like cake walk. You could simply go on and on about the game grid that does not disappoint you. The likes of Crysis and World in Conflict that required frame rate of above hundred performed like running your knife through butter. Even at the highest resolution of 1920 x 1200 setting, this edition manages to deliver a frame rate of 60fps on Crysis and 112 fps on World in Conflict which is very impressive. There are only a few handful of designs that gives you a complete satisfaction that brims your heart. Not even the Maingear Shift surpasses these tests in ease.

Graphics:

The cards in this Raptor Edition deserve a special mention. The GeForce GTX 480 cards are used. Tests reveal that they are way faster than the Radeon cards in Z90 Raptor. The point rate simply blows away the scores of the Maingear Shift and the older Raptor Z90 systems. At the entry level settings it gives a point rate of 92,138 and in the extreme level settings it gives a point rate of 24,494. This point rate has a very strong architecture to support. ATI Radeon cards have two GPUs and Nvidia GeForce GTX480 card has one. To put this in context, there are three Nvidia GPUs that outperform four ATI GPUs, which has been proved in the standard 3D tests.  It is also equipped with a larger hard disk drive and new graphics card. These features could standout to be the reason you buy this edition even though it costs extra pounds than Z90. These new graphics cards show off with better performance on benchmark tests, performed looking for a future driver that may improve the performance of games demanding higher frame rates. Even though, the Maingear Shift holds the high end gaming choice title with its innovative chassis design and sturdiness and also looks impressive at a way lower price, the Velocity Micro Raptor Signature Edition is ultimately the choice for gaming rigs. Get this beauty to your computer table and enjoy the difference in the gaming experience.

Flaws:

So far and so good! There has been humungous pros to support this device. But are we forgetting the flaws? No. There are a few minor flaws associated with the design.  The first thing being that in the inside the hard drive cage points the drive to the system’s rear which makes it very difficult to remove.  The system overall sounds loud. The fans attached to the liquid radiator are responsible for this. Liquid radiator as you know is the part of the cooling mechanism. The other possible reason is the graphics cards that usually remain hot given to the environment in which it is put to. These cards are powered by a 1000 watt power supply and the heat produced requires the coolant to work extra time. All these makes this edition sound louder than it should, given its huge case.

Warranty and Support:

Hand assembly of velocity computers is one of the stand alone reasons for the exceptional quality of these computers. Another reason for its quality is the quality assurance tests performed. The computer comes with a one year parts and labour warranty, phone support hours from 9AM to 10PM monday to friday. Customers also have access to 24/7 emergency support. The period can be expanded to two or three years.

Verdict:

With lots of pros over shadowing its cons this Velocity Raptor Signature edition PC has all the qualities you expect from an ultimate gaming machine. This flag ship item would itch your heart to own it. The very name itself is attractive. The first thing that comes to your mind when you hear this name is about the fighter jet raptor itself. One common attribute both have in common is the killer looks. Looks are simply awesome starting from the windowed case door letting you see the stunning inner side. With Intel’s i7 processor extreme edition and with Velocity Micro’s technology the processor could hike a speed well above the 3.33GHZ. Also comes the GPUs which appear as three EVGA GeForce GTX 285s.  This edition is one of those handful of designs that sweeps your feet from the ground with its performance. Rivals would have to transform to some sheer terminators to beat this product. Right from the beginning the makers have stuck to quality. Closely like the supercomputers this device delivers well, but at the same time it is expensive in its configuration. Add a few options this price inflates like stocks put overnight in the market. Price is one big mountain you would find difficult to digest. But for those who absolutely would not compromise on the quality of gaming experience this  is the best.

Check other Gaming Desktop PCs Reviews, Specs in this website.

Velocity Micro Raptor Desktop PC - Technical Specification Table

Design:

Gateway DS50 Desktop PC chassis is available in the usual black with a red stripe down its front being the only colour to catch your eye. The dimensions (H x W x D) 101.5 x 396.84 x 266.5 in centimeters tell us how compact the whole ensemble is. The device is heavily perforated with holes in two cooling panels on the side which reduce the heating up of the PC to a large extent. So we suggest that your cup of hot cocoa should be placed nowhere near them. It is also rather quiet apart from the humming of the 3.5 inch hard drive.

Maintenance should be a piece of cake with this one. At times however, owing to the dimensions, upgrades and repairs can be quite time taking. But on the whole the extremely simple small form factor design is a major perk. This tiny tot packs a bunch with multiple sockets, two PCI express half-height expansion slots, x1 and x16, external SATA and an integral power supply.

Features:

Operating System:

In trying to be the best, it has to have the best. This means that it comes loaded with the exemplary Windows 7 professional as its operating system. With features like the Aero view and snap, it is more user friendly and seems less messy. It has become much easier to breeze through documents, music and video files, to share photos with the advent of this OS. Other features like the jump list, resizing, the new and improved windows media player make the ride all the more enjoyable.

Processor:

This is perhaps one of the best features to the Gateway DS50 Business Desktop PC. The DS50 gives you the option of powering it up with the latest state of the art Intel core processor family, i.e i3, i5, i7. These processors boast the return of hyper threading which is used for performing several computations at once. Turbo boost and Virtualisation are other exclusive features of the i5 and i7 processors which are used to increase clock speed and allow multiple operating systems to run simultaneously respectively. All this translates to a new computing experience.

Memory and Hard Drive:

The memory that one offers is always a deciding factor and in this sector the DS50 scores big.  Say goodbye to all your storage problems because with the amount of space being given, you will leap up. Gateway Ds50 has 2GB of DDR3 RAM at 1066 Mhz.  Latest in the market and with twice the speed of DDR2,  the DDR3 translates to less power consumption and high speed. This can be increased upto 16GB.  The processor is linked to a 320GB Seagate Barracuda SATA drive which can support up to a whopping storage capacity of 1TB.  With the amount of space being used up, there is also no compromise on the functioning of the PC.  Need we say more?

Graphics:

The graphics card that the DS50 is supplied with is the Intel GMA 4500 HD. This plays its part just enough so that you can get average video playback and gaming experience. It is also considerably slower compared to modern integrated graphic cards.

Too much is not to be expected from this. This will get those high end gamers nowhere. Its performance just equals the other entry level graphic cards in the market. 3D gaming is a big NO with this one and the video decoding is not very impressive either. However, it will suffice everyday needs. Those in business, for whom this pc is aimed for, would probably not spend their time gaming so perhaps it is probably not that big a deal.

Performance:

The performance overall is satisfactory.  The latest in processor technology and amazing storage capacity add to its perks. There is a considerable boost in power with the inclusion of the latest Intel core processor.  System lag due to browsing multiple files are a thing of the past. Multitasking is made easier and less frustrating.  Power consumption is incredibly reduced without compromising on the performance and functioning.

We think that now would be a good time to mention the TCO’05.  It happens to be the latest standard for desktop PCs that stand for environmental and ergonomic excellence. It acknowledges those that guarantee low power consumption, noise levels, electric and magnetic fields along with minimal utilization of substances that have a harmful impact on the environment. Our little buddy is one of the few to walk away with this certification.

Power Consumption:

We think we have said enough about its energy consumption. It has the latest intel core processor and DDR3 memory which helps zoom through files real quick. The sleek and simple design further reduces the need for more power. On the whole there should be a decrease in overhead costs as each part has been designed keeping that in mind.

Warranty:

Gateway ensures all its new desktops with a limited 1 year on-site warranty and also covers parts two years after that from the date of purchase.  You can also extend your warranty coverage for up to 5 years. Visiting GateWay’s official site and contacting their customer care unit will give you more details.

Verdict:

Designed accordingly for small businesses, the Gateway DS50 Desktop PC covers all their needs. Gaming might not be a smart choice with this one.  It is capable of multimedia editing.  There has been a mixed response with its release but so far there is more good than bad.  Though capable of video playback, it is not exactly home theatre material.  The intelligent design of the Gateway DS50 is what has stolen so many hearts.  Priding in low power consumption with the TCO’05 certification to its name, it gives you more for less along with top notch performance. We are guessing businesses will welcome this with a moo.

Check reviews of Alienware Desktop PCs and latest All-in-One Desktop PCs in this website.

Gateway DS50 Desktop PC - Technical Specification Table

The focus this time is on their product the PACKARD BELL iXtreme X6620 UK, a sleek PC designed to provide users with support for the latest in computing hardware as well as incorporate a lot of design features that make it a better computer for gaming and multimedia. Powered by the extremely powerful Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor (2.5GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache), it comes loaded with the latest version of the Windows OS, Windows 7.  The 1 TB memory is accompanied by a 1 GB NVIDIA GeForce T220 graphic card, making it a powerful machine capable of handling higher end graphics. Also, the X6620uk does not come bundled along with a monitor, giving you the choice to get one that suits your needs.

Design:

Sweet n Simple:
Like most PCs in the market, the components of the Packard Bell iXtreme 6220uk are black.  The CPU case is entirely made of glossy black finished aluminium. It features soft curves that are highlighted by a glowing power button. The optical drives and card readers are hidden from view behind stylish doors. At the front face of the CPU is embossed the logo of the company on a chrome plating.  There are air vents present on both sides of the CPU making it easier to cool down under extreme loads.

Easy of Use:
Most PCs feature a design that has not changed for years together. Packard Bell have managed to use newer ways to maximize the user’s experience by combining technology with user friendly tools. The user centric ports are front mounted giving the users an easier access to them. But the best feature according to us was the presence of 2 unique buttons: Photo Frame Button and My BackUp Key button. The former allowed one to display all the images present on a memory card or the hard disk. The latter allows one touch backup eliminating all the hassles of copying them down to a drive for backup.

Ports and Connections:
As the lineage suggests, the iXtreme X6620 1TB Desktop PC features a host of ports that are more than enough even for the most demanding users.  It has the usual headphone and microphone slots, a VGA port, audio jacks and 10 USB ports instead of the regular 6.  There is an all in one media card reader as well.  The presence of built-in 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi technology as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR making it simpler to connect to existing networks without the hassles of cables.

Peripherals:
The keyboard present is ergonomically designed and typing feels faster on it. However, the keyboard is meant more for typing and less for gaming. The mouse does not really have anything special to discuss about.

Features:

Processor:
The Packard Bell iXtreme X6620uk Multimedia Desktop PC runs on a 2 Quad Q8300 processor with a cache memory of 4MB and a bus speed of 1333MHz. The installed memory of 6 B DDR2 RAM ensures that programs run smoothly even with the most intensive data applications at the same time.

Graphics Card:
The quad core processor is bundled along with a NVIDIA GeForce GT220 graphic card that makes graphics performance really impressive. The setup is capable of delivering enough power to play all the latest fancy games such as GTA IV and FIFA 2010. However, it is not adept at handling 3D games.

Speakers:
The iXtreme X6220uk sports a Realtek ALC 888S HD audio 7.1 chipset that provides sound quality at its best and makes this machine great for multimedia. The sound was pretty loud and clear.

Operating System:
While the users always have a choice to choose between Windows, Mac or even Linux, Packard Bell has pre installed the latest version of the Windows OS – Windows 7 on the X6620.

Performance:

Thanks to the quad processor, the iXtreme 6220uk desktop PC is capable of handling not only high definition games but also processor intensive activities such as video and image editing. The huge storage space allows one to store a LOT of personal or professional documents. The memory is sufficient to run games as recent as FIFA 2010. The software bundle provided along the PC includes a host of useful software that complements the computer. We played GTA IV on the PC and it was pretty decent.

Service and Support:

There exists a warranty of one year on the Packard Bell iXtreme X6220UK. The warranty includes toll free as well free hardware support. The site also features some FAQs regarding the general issues that plague their computers.

Verdict:

The PC has everything and more than everything that home users would ask for. A powerful processor bundled with a decent graphics card and a huge memory space makes it an attractive choice. However, since there is no monitor provided, one has to buy one separately. If that is not a hassle for you, then we suggest you go for this computer.

Check other Packard Bell Desktop PCs, Alienware Desktop PC Reviews in this website.

Packard Bell iXtreme 6220uk 1TB Desktop PC - Technical Specifications

Design:

The name of the PC itself suggests that the tower is made as slim and chic as possible. It is not the most portable computer in the world, but it still is slenderised to the maximum possible extent and hence is made more portable than ever before. Its measurements, which read as (H x W x D) 300 x 100 x 389mm, make a clear statement of how slim the HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 is. While the normal computers weigh above 12 kg, this slimmed down computer weighs only about 9.6 kg, making it all the more comfortable for you to carry it. But, the most important thing regarding this design aspect of the computer is that it can be placed, well, almost anywhere and its size does not dominate that much. This also helps in making the overall design of your desktop computer look better and more stylish.

Features:

HP normally provides a good deal of features on almost all of its PCs and laptop computers. Even though the s5306uk Desktop PC is just an integration of its successful previous models, it still has got lots of features that will definitely amaze you. Exploring a little on the inside of the HP Slimline S5306, you will finds some interesting features. Here is a brief note of all such interesting features that are found on this new successful desktop computer from HP.

Processor:
The HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 comes with the Intel Pentium E5300 processor, which is considered to be one of the best in the market. Now, this new and fast processor accounts for the speedy performance of the computer. The 2.6 GHz and 800 Hz FSB along with 2 MB of L2 cache are the chief features of this powerful and new processor, which is quoted as one of Intel’s very best. Hence, the computer is not only fast at its performance, but it also negotiates many problems. Hence, this processor is really reliable for such a good PC.

Operating System:
It is no surprise that the HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 desktop PC comes with Microsoft’s latest and perhaps the best operating system in the world, the Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit version. This operating system is already a revolution in computing technology and it has become pretty famous for its all new look and also the way it makes it easy for you to operate your computer, by providing various new applications and also the never seen before shortcuts. Though the 64 bit version of this operating system has got its own positives to boast about, for example, the integrated overall performance of your computer, it still has got a few compatibility issues when it comes to various applications, games, software and so on, which means that you may face a few problems in the future regarding the compatibility of your computer. But, this problem will soon be rectified as technology is being updated daily at a rapid pace. Hence, there is no need to worry about this.

Memory:
Memory is the most important feature of any computer, after the Processor. There is plenty memory on the HP Pavilion Slimline s5306; it comes with a 3 GB of RAM and this is quite good. Many computers today are coming with at least 2 GB of RAM. So, this can be regarded as above par. But the most striking aspect of the memory of this computer is its Hard Disk space. HP has provided a humongous memory of 640 GB and that too at 7200 rpm. Now, you do not normally see that, do you? In most of the cases, the HDD space is about 320 GB and the maximum limit that the companies have set for themselves is found to be 500 GB. Hence, considering this, it can easily be said that this is a huge memory for a computer that is dedicated to domestic usage. This means that you have lots of empty spaces and so you can fill them with all your data, videos, images and music.

Graphics Card:
Graphics card has become one of the important incorporations of a computer in the recent past with the boom in the gaming market. It is necessary nowadays that a computer comes with a graphics card. This not only accelerates the graphics on the computer, but it also helps a lot in smooth game play while playing the high end computer games, which have become an integral part of many people’s lives. The HP Pavilion Slimline S5306UK Desktop computer comes with the Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 HD. This is specially designed by HP itself in order to support the graphics on its computers.

Wi-Fi:
Wi-Fi is another thing that is deeply rooted into most of the electronic devices today. Hence, you must expect it to be present on the S5306, as it has got all the latest technology in it. The 802.11 b/g/n PCI Express Wireless Half-Length Mini Card serves as the driving mechanism for the wireless connectivity and this means that you can connect to the internet without the help of any wires and cables and hence avoid the mess. This mini card is also integrated and improvised by HP in order to give you better performance. So, sit back and relax as you get connected to the world of internet without the hassle of wires.

Software Package:
The software package offered by HP for the s5306 is quite good and it consists of many essential programs and applications. They all come in various compact disks and hence can be installed on your system on your own pertaining to your needs. Here is a list of the software materials provide by HP: Microsoft Works and Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version, Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker, Cyberlink DVD Suite, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Windows Mail, HP Games Console with hours of free game play. Windows Media Center, Easy Bits Magic Desktop, HP Media Smart Suite: Music, Video, DVD, Photo, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Media Player.

Hence, it is clearly evident that HP has made sure that it gets everything right regarding the HP Pavilion Slimline S5306. You can observe the fact that the features are not too lengthy in order to just catch the attention of the customer, but they are dedicated towards the betterment of the system’s performance.

Performance of s5306:

You do not usually associate bad performance with the computers from HP. They all have been very good and their demand in the market suggests that. Consequently, the s5306 is also one of the best performing desktop computers you will ever see. As we have already seen, the graphics accelerator makes sure that video performance of the computer is always on top. The audio on the HP s5306uk is also pretty good. The High Definition 5.1 channel audio output gives you a great audio performance when connected to a 5.1 channel audio system. Coming to the overall performance of the computer, after looking at the processor, memory, graphics accelerator and operating system, it can be concluded that you will experience excellent performance from the HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 and that too with very negligible time lag and it helps in faster performance too.

Power Consumption:

This may be the only disappointing feature regarding this otherwise wonderful computer. The HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 consumes more power than most of the other similar computers. Rated as one of the top class computing systems in the world, it consumes about 285 watts of power, which is considerably high. The average power consumption is lower than this value. But considering the immense positives it possesses, one can still go for the S5306 even though it may cost a little more than usual.

Warranty:

Just like most other desktop computers you will see in the market today, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5306 comes with a parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

We have now discussed about one of the finest computer models in the market today. There is no doubt that the HP Pavilion Slimline S5306 serves all your needs. One will definitely be delighted by its captivating design, good features and solid performance. Leaving alone the only concern, which is the high power consumption, it can well be said that the S5306 is a perfect contemporary domestic computer.

Check other HP Desktop PCs, MSI Desktop PCs Reviews, Specs in this website.

HP Pavilion Slimline s5306uk - Technical Specification Table

Design:

Monitor:
The Compaq Presario CQ5305 has a black solid metal body with aluminium finish. The screen is an 18 inch one and that uses liquid crystal display. The glossy finish does make the PC look a lot stylish.  At the bottom frame of the screen is the Compaq logo embossed. On the right side are keys for easy access. The resolution of 1368 x 768 pixels features a contrast of 600:1.

Cabinet Design:
HP has bought on a host of changes in the 5305UK m cabinet. The cabinet looks sleek and stylish. The front side has the DVD/CD tray, 2 USB ports and other connections. On the sides of the CPU are vents meant for cooling. The alloy cover that covers the cabinet is painted and is well made.

Ports and Slots:
Being a PC aimed at the home users, it has all the set of connections that you would need. It has a Super Multi optical disc drive for DVD/CD and in terms of connectivity; the system has a headphone and microphone jack, six USB ports, a VGA port and audio jacks. There is an Ethernet port and a memory card reader as well. It is really disappointing to know that it lacks a fire wire port and Bluetooth.

Peripherals:
The keyboard is nothing extraordinary. The piece is ergonomically designed and is raised slightly at the top for maximum comfort.  The mouse is not anything special either.

Features:

Processor, Hard Drive and RAM:
For its price, the Compaq Presario 5300UK-m Desktop Computer delivers the ability to browse the internet, play some games, do office related tasks and watch movies. The 2.6GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core E5300 is capable of handling most tasks that home PC users would ever run. It has a cache memory of 2MB and hardware configuration of 320GB SATA drive, 2 GB DDR3 memory and a SuperMulti DVD R/RW optical drive.

Software:
There are complementary software included such as MS works and Office with 60 days trial. Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Mail, Windows Photo Galley and Windows Movie Maker are a plethora of programs from Microsoft that are included.  Other software included in the package are CyberLink DVD Suite, EasyBits Magic Desktop and a HP games console with hours of free game play.

Windows 7 Pre-installed:
The CQ5305 Personal Computer System comes with Windows 7 Home Premium pre installed. The latest operating system from the company serves everybody’s computing needs that include support for high level software.

Graphics processing:
The 5305 features Intel GMA X4500HD processor make it a desktop powerful enough for most household user activities such as web browsing, office work and some light gaming. The GPU sports about 782 MB of RAM and coupled with the 2.6 GHz Dual Core processor, it is a great bargain for most users.

Multimedia:
It is a pleasure to watch movies, listen to music, play games in the desktop PC thanks to the high definition 5.1 channel audio output making the games and movies sound more realistic and the sound quality is great.

Performance:

The Compaq Presario delivers the ability to do activities that are light on the processor. The system is stable but it was unable to handle intense applications such as video editing, 3D editing or even 3D games. The audio solution was good, considering it included the ability to conjure up to six speakers simultaneously. The graphics card allows viewing of DVD movies and below 720p HD video.  If you are looking for expanding the memory of the PC, there is good news as there is plenty of space to install an extra high definition audio card, wireless card and a graphics card. Considering that there is a plethora of useful software included, the PC is definitely a great alternative for a home desktop PC.

Service and Support:

There is a limited warranty of one year included on the Compaq Presario 5305UK m. The warranty includes toll free support as well free hardware technical support. There is a 30 day free software support which can be extended up to 90 days with product registration.

Verdict:

The Compaq Presario 5305UK-m is another decent product from HP. It has got all its basics right. It has a decent monitor that allows viewing of DVD and 720p HD movies. The CPU has got enough strength to get most of the basic tasks done such as internet browsing or office work. However if you would want to play games such as Crysis, then you would be disappointed. The audio is decent and well, that makes it a complete home desktop unit. If you are looking for a decent PC that comes with a cheap price tag, you could go for this.

Check other Compaq Presario Desktop PCs in this website.

Compaq Presario CQ5305 Desktop PC - Technical Specification Table

Acer is the third largest producer of computing devices like Desktop PCs and laptops in the world. Over the years, it has gained a very good reputation of being cheap but effective, unlike its other costly counterparts. Its latest innovation has been the Acer Aspire Z5610 and it certainly looks very promising. Let us go through the various details of this very new brainchild from Acer.

Design:

PC? We thought it was your telly:
Looking at the Aspire Z5610, you will be reminded of the LCD TV that you have in your home. A very sleek design with a rectangular look and slightly curved edges give the Aspire Z5610 Desktop PC a very professional and stylish look. Measuring about 22.4 inches wide, 3.3 inches deep, 19.1 inches high, the Aspire Z5610 is one of the sleekest desktops you will find in the market. Hence, it is not only easy for locomotion but for also placing it almost anywhere. It also comes in an attractively white coloured finish, so that it can get adjusted to any kind of background. It slightly resembles the black coloured HP desktop PC and there are also a few rumours regarding its design that it may have been lifted from that of HP, but there is nothing like that. The Aspire Z5610 has got its own aspirations and it is a unique design from Acer. Thus, overall, you will be completely satisfied with the very look of the Aspire Z5610.

Display:
The 23 inch display measured diagonally, is quite comfortable for a screen since it will be great for watching movies and also playing games on it. The TFT active matrix LCD offers a very good display and it uses the conventional CCFL system for the purpose of backlighting. Even then, the display is commendably good and the brightness levels are uniformly maintained all over the screen and there is also option for local dimming of the lights. This makes sure that the screen has very good viewing angles. So, there is no deterioration in the picture brightness or quality even when viewed from the sides. There is also a very good mechanism with the Aspire Z5610 that maintains wonderful contrast. Hence, there are no complaints regarding the display of this new Desktop PC from Acer.

Features:

The features section is the longest one and also the most important one of all, particularly regarding a desktop PC. Most of the electronic devices are now providing many more features and at the same time, new special features are evolving every day. The Acer Aspire Z5610 has also got its own features to boast about. It has got in it each and every feature that is expected from a Desktop PC. Have a look at the various features of the Aspire Z5610 and decide as to whether or not consider it as a useful PC.

Processor and Main Board:
As you all know, the processor is the most important part of the CPU and a computer’s ability is determined by the strength and also the version of the processor that it comes with. Coming to the Aspire Z5610, it comes with one of the Intel’s most powerful processor, the Intel Pentium E5300 Dual Core processor. This means that this one processor is equivalent to two normal CPUs. Hence, your computer performs faster than ever before with very less time lag. The Aspire Z5610 also allows 64 bit computing along with the 32 bit processor. The Chipset is also of the better ones in the market; that is the IntelG45 Express chipset with a data bus speed of about 800 MHz Hence, your computer will always be on top of its performance with the aforementioned combination.

Operating System:

Like most of the computers in the market today, the Aspire Z5610 Slim Size Desktop PC also comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium as the default operating system. This is the latest operating system released by Windows earlier this year and computing has never been so easy before this OS. There are lots of new features introduced by Windows this time round and Windows 7 is a perfect example for what should an operating system look like and also perform like. Many new options are introduced that make life easy for you and there are also shortcuts for many programs. You can create movies quicker, search for files or folders in real quick time, and so on. So, with such an abundance of features, Windows 7 will be a great companion for the Aspire Z5610 and together they make you feel the difference.

Memory:

Normally, the desktop PCs have good memory since there is a lot of need for storage when it comes to domestic use. Things such as games, movies, music and some software are usually seen in the domestic desktop PCs. Hence, the Acer Aspire Z5610 has come with quite good memory. It comes with a default RAM of capacity 4 GB, but you can always customise it and upgrade the RAM whenever you need, but you can only extend it up to a maximum limit of 8 GB. This RAM is also the DDR3 type, which is the latest one you will see in the market. Coming to the storage capacity or the hard disk space of the Aspire Z5610, you are provided with a default 320 GB standard SATA 300 of speed 7200 rpm. There is no provision for expansion here and the 320 GB is common to all the PCs. Actually, 320 GB must be more than enough for normal domestic uses. Should you need extra memory for your computer, you can buy an external hard drive.

Graphics Card:
Most of today’s computers, be them the desktop or the laptop computers, are coming with a solid in built graphics card. This helps in better and faster performance of your computer when it comes to watching high end movies from your Blu Ray Discs or even playing today’s high end games, which demand very good graphics acceleration. As expected, the Aspire Z5610 comes with a good graphics card, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570, which is of 512 MB capacity. This means that you can almost play all the latest games you will find in the market. During the tests with a variety of high end games, we have found no lag or even drag, which means that this particular graphics card is exceptionally good. This in turn enhances the overall graphics performance of the system.

Touch Screen:

This is a very special feature considering the fact that the Aspire Z5610 is a desktop PC. Given the fact that the touch screen technology has of late crept into every electronic device, even the desktop PCs are now coming with this feature. What it does is that obviously, it helps in direct pointing of objects on the screen so that a lot of time is saved. Of course this can be availed only if you are very near to the computer. But even then, in most of the cases, people find it easy to use the touch screen facility over the mouse clicks. Click and drag function is a lot easier using your hands rather than the mouse. Another thing is multi touch is also supported so that you can use two hands at a time. Now, this must be more convenient for you to handle your computer. Hence, you can consider this as an extra feature if not the most important one.

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse:
Leave the world of wires and move on in to the wireless world. The Aspire Z5610 Touch Screen Desktop PC is such a good thing that it reduces the mess of wires. You will basically need a single power cord and excepting that, everything is wireless. The keyboard and mouse of this PC also work wirelessly. Even though they are connected via Bluetooth, there are no connectivity problems this time around as Acer has renovated this Bluetooth mechanism in order to avoid issues regarding the connectivity. You can also sit at a distance from your monitor and can still control it perfectly well. Up to a distance of 10 metres, there are no reported problems regarding both the keyboard and mouse. Your desktop looks a lot tidier than ever before with this wireless arrangement.

Wi-Fi:
Where on the earth you do not find Wi-Fi? It has been one of the most used and also the most featured of all the features. You will find this feature on most of the electronic goods that are coming out nowadays. The built in WLAN card of the Aspire Z5610 is a pretty good one and allows to surf the net wirelessly. The special ability of this WLAN card is that its ability to provide very good signal strength even when the signals from the port are weak. Hence, with the Aspire Z5610, you can connect to the internet fast and also easily surf the internet, chat with your pals, and also share your photos. Downloading of files has also been faster this time around. Hence, another feature that will eliminate the messy wired system.

Ethernet:
Even though you have the facility to surf the web wirelessly through the aforementioned Wi-Fi feature, the Ethernet is still a very good option. What it does is, it not only makes the connection more direct and safe, but it also makes the communication faster. This is the reason behind the presence of this feature even today. It is a clear fact that Wi-Fi is not as good as this one. Hence, Ethernet on the Aspire Z5610. The specifications of this Ethernet port are as follows: Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b, IEEE 802.11 g, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 n (draft) compliant to the following standards: IEEE 802.11 b, IEEE 802.11 g, IEEE 802.11 n (draft). Hence, you can also connect to the internet using cables, if needed.

Card Reader:
Even though the main system is pretty slim, there are a few ports available for the purpose enhancing the connectivity options of the Aspire Z5610. The Card reader is discussed here separately just because of the fact that you will not find this facility in the previous models of slim desktops from Acer. It is only this time that Acer has tried and provided a multiple card reader that is very helpful when it comes to sharing files. This very card reader supports a few varieties of memory cards and helps you in quickly recognising and syncing your cards with the computer. The supported types of memory cards are: Memory Stick, Multi Media Card, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo. Yes, this is really a very good variety shown by this very card reader. Copying of files is also very easy when you go by this means. Hence, it is an appreciable feat from Acer.

Software Package:
There is a decent software package provided along with the Aspire Z5610. While some of them are installed on the computer, the others come inside CDs, so that they can be installed separately whenever needed. Here is a list of software items that you will see along with the Aspire Z5610: Acer e Recovery Management, eSobi (OEM), Oberon Touch Games,  Microsoft Works, Acer Touch Portal, Egis Tec MyWinLocker, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office (60 days trial),  Microsoft Touch Pack, CyberLink You cam (OEM), CyberLink Power Cinema (OEM), McAfee Internet Security Suite (Trial). Although most of these are very essential even for domestic uses, there are still some of them which are either not that necessary or not that frequently used. Hence, such types of software are provided in a separate package and hence they can be installed any time later.

Hence, as you can see, the Aspire Z5610 comes with a decent software package and also above all, a very good features package. While some of them are trademark features of Acer, a few of them are also often seen on most of the computers.

Performance:

As this is the most important aspect of all regarding any electronic device, it seems that Acer has taken sufficient care regarding the performance of its desktop PCs and especially the Aspire Z5610. Now, as we have already seen earlier, due to the presence of a solid processor and good memory aspects, the overall performance of the system is really good and also comparable to that of the best in the market. Although there have not been any doubts regarding the video performance of the Aspire Z5610, there has been a hue and cry regarding its audio performance owing to fact that the system is pretty slim and hence there is no space to provide good speaker system. But, against all odds, Acer has come out with a slim desktop PC that has a wonderfully performing audio. With the presence of an integrated sound card, and a 5.1 channel surround sound output, the Aspire Z5610 has got it all to get you a great audio experience.

Connectivity:

The sleek design of the Aspire Z5610 may deceive you but remember that Acer has not been one of those that provide poor connectivity options. Continuing the trend, it has tried its best in embedding almost all the ports that you can imagine in the world. If you look at the sides and the back of the computer, you will find the following options that allow you to connect your computer to other devices and share files and stuff: 1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1 x Headphones - Output - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 6 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A (2 in front), 4 x Audio, 1 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45, 1 x Storage - eSATA - 7 pin external Serial ATA. Their presence really counts and allows great transactions between your computer and other devices near your vicinity.

Power Consumption:

This may be one of those shockers, which are usually few and far between when it comes to the products from Acer. The Acer Aspire Z5610 takes a little more money off your pocket. One an average, it consumes about 250 watts of power, which is significantly high, especially when you compare it with its counterparts from other prime manufacturers in the market. But nevertheless, the difference is also very slim and it will be fine for you in the long run.

Warranty:

Acer offers the Aspire Z5610 a parts and labour warranty against any manufacturing defect, for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. The rest of the details can be found on the leaflet that comes along with the warranty card.

Verdict:

If you are really in need of a computer and you can also not afford a big space for it, then the Acer Aspire Z5610 is one of the right choices you can ever make. Of course, since the cost of the computer is also not unbearable which means that, it will obviously be preferred over the other bulky looking desktop PCs that are seen around the market. Though you may consider buying a laptop instead, it is always good to buy a desktop PC if you are not in need of a portable PC. After looking at all the aspects of the Aspire Z5610 viz. the design, features and performance, you can conclude that it is one of those desktop PCs which are affordable and also at the same time, very useful. Since Acer also has not got the notoriety for poor service after purchase, it looks like the Aspire Z5610 will be one of the better slim PCs of the year.

Check other Acer Desktop PC Reviews, Models in this website.

Acer Aspire Z5610 Desktop PC - Technical Specification Table

Pros:

1.    Optimized for Microsoft Windows 7 and can also support up to seven real time OSs
2.    Separate GPU for all the graphical demands of the user which reduces strain on the CPU
3.    20 inch monitor with 16:9 aspect ratio ensures DVD quality media
4.    Wide variety of media connectivity options and 6 USB ports
5.    6.1 Dolby digital sound surrounds system.
6.    Buttons are phosphor lined.

Cons:

1.    Very low cache memory of 1 MB that slows down I/O and data transfer rate
2.    No Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity options.
3.    No Firewire connectivity
4.    No Blue Ray support drive
5.    No internal/external card reader device
6.    Lack of external GATE connections
7.    LCD screen cannot be adjusted in vertical arrangement

Review:

When Hewlett Packard CEO first moved in to Silicon Valley of the US, little did he know that the small computer company he set up for research purposes of the universities, would one day become the largest desktop PC in the world! The popularity of HP has grown phenomenally ever since and, almost each and every home that has a Hewlett Packard device. Not only this, HP continues to introduce new products like GPS devices, smart phones, tablets, laptops and a slew of other devices. But even till this day, HP is famous for what it started manufacturing years ago: Desktop PCs.
It has been a long journey for HP and with the passage of years, it has seen a steady rise of competitors as good as HP but somehow, HP managed to win the race thanks to its superb engineering and technology. HP has seen its share of ups and downs but today after almost a decade, it has emerged as the undisputed winner in the field of desktop computers. And with the recent launch of the HP Pavilion p6300uk desktop PC, things just got better.

Design:

Display:
Hewlett Packard seems to have changed the norms by going for an all black solid metal body with aluminum finish body. While the screen is of the liquid crystal display type, it would have been better had Hewlett Packard gone for thin film transistor technology instead of the traditional liquid crystal display. The screen size is huge and the 20 inch monitor with a glossy finish textured screen is impressive. Such beauty gives us the feel that we really are sitting in front of the movie screen. The 20 inch screen has an aluminum finish with a black gloss border around the screen. The screen resolution is 1600 by 900 pixels and comes with 16:9 DVD aspect ratios.

Design features:
The integrated web camera is situated at the top middle part of the screen. While the monitor can swivel to both sides, it, however, cannot be adjusted up-down. One unique design feature was the presence of the Hewlett Packard logo at the back of the monitor. What really strikes about the logo is the glow power feature of it. This means that when the computer is switched ON, the Hewlett Packard logo glows bright green and on standby mode it glows amber. Cool! The monitor also sports an array of buttons just below the screen in the glossy black cover area. These buttons are dedicated one-touch buttons that provide access to the media center.

Cabinet Design:
Hewlett Packard also brought on a slew of changes in the P6300UK cabinet which is the power house of the computer. Rather than its traditional tower type box shaped cabinets, this time Hewlett Packard has gone for style and design. The HP Pavilion p6300uk Desktop PC comes with a compact, trendy and custom designed cabinet which is rich on designs as well as features. The optical drive has been given a new look, which makes the device look cooler! Even the power switch has undergone a makeover. In short, everything has been given new attire. The cabinet is completely alloy casted covered with painted steel and plastic covers and designs in some strategic places. At the back of the cabinet, there is an array of vents and cooling fins to keep the system as silent as possible. It also features an interesting collection of connectivity ports and even has a separate covered space at the top of the cabinet for storing optical discs.

Ports and slots:
The HP Pavilion p6300uk desktop computer is designed to be a multimedia PC. Therefore, it supports a host of connectivity options which not only allow seamless media streaming and rich video quality but also allow us to stay connected with our friends all the time, join networks etc. For example, this desktop comes with two inbuilt modems, Ethernet modem and card and LAN card.  The integrated 10/100 base-T networking interface modem with Ethernet express card ensure full encryption security while connecting to other networks. Although there is no fire wire port for Firewire connectivity, Hewlett Packard makes up for this loss by providing 6 USB ports.

However one big spoilsport in the connectivity feature is the lack of Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Also the camera is VGA mode camera. Surprisingly, the HP Pavilion p6300uk desktop supports TV output and comes with in built TV tuner card. It also has extension jacks for line in, microphone and headphone connectivity. As for media center and live streaming connectivity, it comes with two PCI Express media center ALC-662 chipset card and also sports a high definition 6.1 digital surround system. The optical drive is not bad with DVD SATA technology. The 52x DVD drive also comes with HP light scribe technology.

External Ports:
The front panel comprises of a 15 in 1 (4 slot) connection port along with 2 USB ports. It also sports a headphone and mic plug in. The back panel also features an array of connectivity ports. It has the LAN connection port, 4 USB ports and a VGA port. The back panel also comprises of the audio line, which includes a line in, a line out and a mic connector port.

Peripherals:
Hewlett Packard has not even left the mouse and keyboard unnoticed! The keyboard has been given a completely new look, which consists of not only the traditional keyboard keys but also a host of other buttons for a variety of tasks. The keyboard is ergonomically shaped and raised at the top for maximum comfort and type speed. The keyboard also features a miniature LCD screen tablet at the middle that can be folded open to keep a track of the activities of various software especially during games. Another interesting feature of the keyboard is that all the buttons are phosphor lined. This ensures complete visibility of the buttons at night if there is no light available. The mouse too, has been changed and now it sports a cool Ferrari Sports car like devilish look much similar to that of the gaming mouse. The shape has been radically altered and for the first time ever, the mouse when held, feels that it is completely in the grip of our hands.

Features:

Processor, Hard drive and RAM:
Hewlett-Packard’s Pavilion p6300uk desktop computer has a solid processing unit which is powered by AMD Athlon II X2 Processor 215. The processor has a speed of 2.7 GHz and it is complimented with Microsoft’s 64-bit Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system, which is pre-installed in the device. The power consumption is also moderate as it runs through a power supply of 300 Watts. The hard disk consists of a 500 GB of SATA HDD hard drive with a maximum clock speed of 7200 rpm. This means, the device with its considerably high potential of storage capacity provides users with plenty of space to save and store multimedia files and documents. On top of that, a 3GB RAM is also there to enhance usability and seamless multi-tasking.

Graphics Processing:
The whopping 3GB of 240 pin DDR3 SDRAM coupled with the AMD processor make this desktop a really powerful one when compared to others of its league in the international market. And to top all of it, the HP Pavilion p6300uk Desktop PC comes with the latest Gigabyte motherboard that sports a graphical processing unit. The NVIDIA geForce series GPU ensures a very smooth display experience in all fields. The GPU is of the NVIDIA geForce 6150 series make and sports a whopping 1 GB of graphics RAM. The AMD X2 Processor is fine tuned to a clock speed of 2.4 GHz and also has a HT performance of 2 GHz. However despite all this greatness, it only gives a meager 1 MB of L2 cache memory.

Overall, this desktop PC from HP is a great deal for the users. And the best thing is that it is nearly perfect for both work purpose as well as for entertainment and gaming. The process to backup data files and folders is very convenient, simple and user friendly.

Multimedia:
Watching movies, listening to music and playing games is much more fun in this desktop PC with the high definition 5.1-channel audio output, which makes movies and games more realistic and the sound quality is much beyond the average.

Software:
The HP Pavilion p6300uk multimedia desktop PC is optimized for Microsoft Windows 7 and comes preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium. Other than this, HP also provides users with a host of proprietary software like Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version. Microsoft Internet Explorer is also preloaded for browsing internet contents and Windows Mail for a smarter version of a quicker outlook express which is very handy software for sending and receiving emails. HP Media Smart Suite is a complimentary entertainment package which helps in playback and burning of music items, video files and photos in DVD. Users can also view pictures in the hard disk through an appealing Windows Photo Gallery. Other than this, Windows Media Player Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker, Cyber link DVD Suite, etc are also beneficial in a lot of ways for handling and managing multimedia files. Easy Bits Magic Desktop is also an interesting and catchy application. HP Games Console is for pure gaming fun and action and along with it comes complimentary hours of free game play. Windows Media Centre has also been enriched and comes with a six month trial. Windows Media Centre has also been revised and optimised for use with this desktop complete with the dedicated buttons on the monitor for quick and immediate access.

Support and Security:
Moreover, the HP Pavilion p6300uk desktop pc is also preloaded with support and security software to ensure the functioning to be secure. And it also helps users to understand their machine or the problems when they occur. Norton Internet Security 2010 is provided as an antivirus to prevent crash or corruption by external virus. HP Recovery Manager helps to quickly recover deleted old files, or to create a recovery point for the users to eradicate the faults. HP Advisor, HP hardware diagnostic tool and HP help & support help the users to understand the machine, detect problems and find solutions for them as well. Due to the presence of these software, the HP Pavilion p6300uk is quite a safe, secure and user friendly device.

Performance:

The HP Pavilion p6300uk Desktop Computer PC passed with flying colours in the performance test. It had to, with such mammoth-like power and optimised capability under the hood, this was clean winner right from the start. The HDD drive with 3 GB DDR3 RAM and the AMD XII processor made this device a super fast machine and boot time took just 13 seconds flat. Windows 7 booted up with no difficulty and worked like dream. Another really unique thing as revealed by the test was the fact that this computer works almost silently. One can hardly hear it while the device works. And it rarely heats up during the long hours of extreme use. However, the real problem is during the transfer of data that this PC becomes slow. Actually it is because of the very low cache memory that inhibits quick data transfer.

Game play, movies and other media contents were simply fabulous on this PC and one could not have asked for more. The optical drive is pretty quick too and discs take much lesser time to load. In the multi-OS test too, this device got great marks. It can support up to a maximum of seven real-time OSs and this really is the limit! There are hardly any PCs out there in the market that barely make up with 2 real-time OSs and this works fine with seven, certainly impressive. A performance test reveals the truth about a device and this test revealed a huge beast under the hood with out of the world performance.

Warranty:

The manufacturers provide a one year base warranty for HP Pavilion p6300uk desktop PC.

Verdict:

In one short, simple answer, the final verdict is “YES!” This is just the perfect device for all types of home and office requirements and finally Hewlett Packard has created an undisputed winner! It is miles ahead of its competitors and with such a perfect blend of beauty and beast coupled with features and performance, this desktop PC could not have been better. The screen size is also big and glossy and everything about the device is a beauty. This device has already made lots of heads turn and has carved a space of its own. Whether it is playing games, watching movies, editing videos, listening to music, working with documents or anything else; this is one of the best answers to all your problems!

Check latest Desktop PC Reviews, other HP Desktop Computer Reviews, Specs in this website.

HP Pavilion P6300UK - Technical Specification Details

Some might have doubts about the E5300 processor which runs at just 2.6GHz, and its performance capabilities, but it is still many times quicker than any nettop that is currently available in the market. Not surprisingly, it also performs around three times faster than a dual-core Atom 330. Sporting four USB 2.0 ports, a memory card reader, a VGA connector and an RJ-45 Ethernet port, this wonder machine has excellent connectivity too.

Design:

Flexible and Stylish:
The clever design of the Advent Firefly FP9004 lets you to place it vertically or horizontally, whatever is best for your environment. It is flexible in the sense that it can stand upright or lie on a desk, both without causing any functional difficulties. The top edge of the chassis forms the main air vent grille. The sleek front panel that adds to the charm of this wonder machine is split down the centre by an LED that makes it look expensive. Going into the finer details, the Firefly is not too large or too small; it is about 300mm tall, 93mm thick and 320mm deep – making it a rightful successor to the Advent family by letting it fit anywhere. The power and reset switches are strategically placed on the top of the case making it easy to reach them even if you have placed the Firefly beneath your desk. Swaggering a stylish black exterior, intriguing space saving design, the Advent Firefly FP9004’s clever design been duly recognised as one of the best in its class.

Efficient Space Usage:
One look inside the chassis of the Firefly and we were more than convinced that all the available space has been used in the best possible way. Everything seems to be so snugly placed inside it. The 250W power supply is seated at the foot of the chassis just beside a Micro ATX Fox Conn motherboard. The cooling circuit comprising of the Intel cooler sits atop the CPU. No expansion cards are installed as standard. However, there are PCI Express x16 and x1 slots that are free if you want to add a TV tuner card or graphics card for that extra gaming experience. There is no much scope for boosting performance as the only RAM slot onboard is filled.

Connectivity:
The Firefly FP9004 Desktop Computer comes with 6 USB 2.0 ports - two on the front and four on the rear, one DVD RW drive, two 3.5 mm audio connectors, a card reader that supports almost all card formats. The DVD writer is crammed at the front of the case. The front panel also houses the card reader. The 802.11bgn wireless dongle that’s bundled with the PC compensates the issue of having just a 10/100 Ethernet. The selection of other ports is limited toa VGA output for the integrated graphics chipset, a basic 5.1 surround sound audio output, and a pair of PS/2 connectors.

Features:

The design on the Firefly in undoubtedly one of a kind, but it is the features and hardware options that make a well designed computer worthwhile.

Processor:
The Advent Firefly FP9004 runs on the dual-core Intel Pentium Processor E5300 with a 2 MB L2 Cache, a Front Side Bus Speed of 800 MHz and a Clock Speed of 2.6 GHz. It is quite a powerful processor but for more demanding tasks, a quad-core CPU will do better. The E6600 with high quality cooling and a good motherboard would have been a smarter choice.

Memory and Hard Disk:
The typical memory requirement of a home computer is 2GB and a Hard Disk of 250GB or more. The Firefly comes with 2GB of DDR2 800/667/533 memory and a 320GB SATA Western Digital Caviar Blue hard disk. The 320GB hard drive provides plenty of room for multimedia files, documents and what not, while 2GB of RAM helps you to run everyday programs with smooth efficiency. Even if your storage space requirements are higher, getting an upgrade or buying an external hard disk is not much of an expensive affair. So in all regards, we think that the memory and hard disk that comes with the Firefly FP9004 is decent enough for any home computer.

Operating System:
The FP9004 Desktop Computer PC comes pre installed with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System. The OS being genuine, you would not have to deal with any software counterfeiting problems. Windows Vista was a serious pitfall of Microsoft, and a year later, we have Windows 7- stable, smooth, and highly polished. It has introduced new graphical features that make your desktop look amazing. It also sports a new taskbar that can very well compete with the Mac OS X dock. The other features include device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Most importantly, Windows 7 does not require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded. This might partially be because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has done its part by going in great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible. In short- Windows 7 is not too basic, not too complicated, but just right.

Graphics Card:
Intel GMA X3100 is what the Firefly comes pre-installed with. The GMA X3100 itself is both theoretically and practically a formidable piece of technology, from an integrated graphics point of view. At present, using the pre-installed X3100, the Firefly can handle anything that uses Flash player - but that might not be the case when you try to do a bit of overloading. You will not be able to play the latest 3D games, and you might find trouble while playing 1080p video clips, such as those on YouTube. This is not primarily a PC built for entertainment; hence such a flaw is excusable. On the other hand, if you are too much into gaming- high end gaming, then you should go for an upgrade. Only low profile versions work as they are the only ones that can fit into the 9cm wide base unit. The Radeon HD5450 and the NVidia 220GT should fit in the base units.

Install only what is required:
The Advent Firefly FP9004 is a PC with novice consumers in mind. The initial boot experience is something that has to be praised, rather than chucking a barrage of bloat ware at every user, you are given a comprehensive menu list of available software. It is your computer and hence you have the right to decide what you want and what you do not want. One can select or deselect software for installation. It sure does use up a lot of your hard disk space, but makes you the rightful owner of your PC.

Miscellaneous:
The FP9004 sports a RJ-45 Ethernet port, a Headphone, 1x Microphone, 1x Line-in, 1 x PCI-E slot. As mentioned earlier, the Firefly FP9004 comes with the Foxconn G31S motherboard which has just one DDR2 slot, with a 2GB memory module installed. This is the maximum memory module size that can be fitted onto this board, making it impossible to upgrade at a later point of time. The peripherals that come with the Advent Firefly FP9004 include a normal Advent PS/2 Mouse and an Advent PS/2 Keyboard.

Performance:

The overall performance of the Firefly FP9004 is pretty good. The features that have been discussed above boost the performance to a greater extent. Now, let us take a look at audio, video and overall performances of the system in order to have a better idea. Let us examine how good they really are.

Video Performance:
The chipset used with the Firefly FP9004 is the Intel G31 Integrated. The G31 chipset includes Intel’s GMA3100 integrated graphics unit. The G31 is classified as a mainstream desktop chipset targeted at “essential computing.” The product hence clearly does not support top notch features. The power consumption however is very minimal. If you try to play back a Blu-ray quality HD video on the Firefly, it might somehow manage without any video acceleration. If you are the kind who likes to watch HD videos regularly, we would recommend a PC with a much more modern graphics chipset.

Audio Performance:
The audio performance of the Advent Firefly FP9004 is well over satisfactory; thanks to Realtek. The ALC662 is a 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio Codec that was basically designed for Windows Vista desktop and mobile PCs. Its performance and functionality meet Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium requirements. The ALC662 features three stereo DACs, two stereo ADCs, and legacy analog input to analog output mixing, to provide a fully-integrated audio solution for multimedia PC systems. As with all PCs, the Firefly has one headphone, one microphone and one line-in audio interfaces. It is compatible with Direct Sound 3D, A3D, I3DL2, and even HRTF 3D. It has 10 Software Equalizer Bands and can handle Voice Cancellation and Key Shifting in Karaoke mode. It is feature rich and hence guarantees amazing performance.

Power Consumption:
The power that the FP9004 consumes on an average is really very economical. In idle state, the Firefly FP9004 consumes 40 Watts of power, and in the peak power state, it consumes close to 65 Watts of power. These power consumption rates are very good, and hence make the FP9004 an environment friendly model.

Warranty:

The Advent Firefly FP9004 comes with a one year Return To Base(RTB) or Customer Carry In warranty. That should put aside all your worries, if you have any at all regarding this wonder machine.

Verdict:

All in all, the Advent Firefly FP9004 is a well-specified machine that is available in the market at an attractive price. Comparing it to the current raft of nettops that focus on basic tasks and decoding media, one can be sure that they make more of a consumer option; and hence your investment wise. If you already have a monitor to re-use from an old PC the Advent packs an awful lot of value into its little frame. A perfectly good dual-core processor, a capacious hard disk and 802.11n wireless, all in a smart yet slim package and the Firefly FP9004 is a charmer.  For fun, effectual and infallible computing, look no further than the Advent FP9004 desktop, because it is definitely here to stay.

Advent Firefly FP9004 - Technical Specification Table

Design:

Uniqueness:
This is the topic of the greatest interest as the only thing that is keeping this PC from the ordinary ones is the design. You will not find the CPU at first sight because it is engrafted so beautifully to the monitor. It looks like an extension to the stand of the monitor, but it actually is the CPU. These both are linked with the help of sole, glossy chrome and a flexible stand. This is a very good idea indeed by the engineers of Advent. Although there were some claims that the stand is not so flexible, the statements were not so true. Now, going a bit deeper into the very details of the AIO-101, it measures (H x W x D) 370 x 448 x 214 mm. These measurements are pretty much on the finer side and also very good when compared to the normal standards. This sleek design of it means that it is not difficult to place your system anywhere you want. Another great aspect of the design is that the display screen can be rotated up to an angle of 90 degrees upright. This may be useful in many aspects.

Display:
The Advent AIO-101 Home Desktop PC has got one of the best displays that we have ever seen. The 18.4 inch LCD screen is pretty good for watching movies and playing video games. As we have already seen earlier, the screen can be comfortably rotated to a good degree. This means that the screen has a wide viewing range and this helps you when the whole family plans to watch a movie. Everybody can be comfortable watching the movie as there is no colour distortion or fading or even blurring. Every other characteristic regarding the display is just about normal.

Features of Advent AIO-101:

As the design and display parts of the system are pretty satisfactory, let us now move on to the features section and see if the new features and options are good enough to make the Advent AIO-101 desktop a worthwhile one.

Processor:
The AIO-101, like most of the desktop computers, features the processor from AMD. To be more specific, the AIO-101 comes with AMD Athlon X2 3250e processor. For reasons that are unknown, Advent has been going towards AMD, instead of Intel. This may be due to the fact that the processors from Intel are costlier. Since Advent is trying to provide a pretty good computer for a reasonable rate, it has gone in favour of AMD. As it is a well known fact, the processor is like the brain of the computer and it should necessarily be a good one. This processor is excellent and also very good in boosting up the performance of the system on the whole.

Memory and Hard Disk:
The AIO-101 all-in-one Desktop Computer has an internal random access memory or RAM of 4GB. This is more than sufficient for any home utility. Most of the computers nowadays, either laptops or desktop computers, are coming with an internal memory of 4 GB or higher. But 4 GB is perfect for home desktops. Even then, if there is necessity for a higher RAM, then there is always a scope for you to upgrade it. When it comes to the hard disk capacities, they range from 160GB to 500GB. But the default capacity that is provided is 320GB. This can also be upgraded in the future if needed. Thus, on the whole, the AIO-101 has got good memory that gives you excellent performance.

Operating System:
The AIO-101 comes with a pre installed operating system, the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium version 6.0, Service Pack 2. You are guaranteed with a genuine copy of this operating system so you need not worry about software counterfeiting problems with your system. Adding to these, Windows Vista is a wonderful operating system and it makes your desktop look more attractive than ever before. This operating system has almost replaced in all areas of Windows’ previous OS, Windows XP. It also makes your work a lot easier by providing shortcuts to many programs.   Working with this operating system is really fun and easy and even an enjoyable one.

Graphics Card:
The Advent AIO-101 has a built in ATI Radeon HD 3200, 256 MB of graphics card in order to give you optimal performance while watching movies or even while playing games. With the graphics card, the pictures on your computer look more fine and sharp, hence increasing the beauty of it. Another main function of this graphics card is to provide you a very good graphics base for your computer games. It allows smoother game play without any drags or other issues and it also accounts for the speed at which the games are running. It allows 3D gaming with great support for the picture motion. This built in card may be sufficient for home use and mediocre games, but if you wish to play the latest games and wish for a high end gaming performance, then this is not enough. But the best part about the graphics card is that you can upgrade it to any level, whenever you want. Graphics cards of higher memory are being sold in the market.

Connectivity:
Although the deck or the platform looks quite small, it still has good connectivity options that greatly enhance the range of the AIO-101. As usual, there is a DVD writer in the front. This can read and write DVDs and CDs as well. At the back of the platform or the so called central processing unit in this case, you will find numerous terminals that can be used to connect your computer to various external devices. First up, there are as many as five USB 2.0 ports. This can be vital because you can increase the range of the AIO-101 to higher levels if you can sync it with the USB ports. Then there is the slot for the HDMI cable. With the help of an HDMI cable, you can connect your PC to your high definition television and then synchronise them both. The next one that you will find here is the Ethernet cable, with which you can connect to an Ethernet port and then gain internet access. As there is no Wi-Fi enabled system, this feature might come in handy when it comes to connecting to the internet. Thus there are a lot of utilities that elevate the utility of your computer.

Miscellaneous:
The digital TV tuner feature is now gaining a lot of popularity among many and hence it has started to feature on few of the computers. The Advent AIO-101 is one such computer. This very digital tuner helps you tune your computer to you television and then watch regular TV channels either from the cable connection or directly from the satellite. This means that you can even watch full length television channels on your computer without any additional pay. There is an internal built in microphone that can be used during video chatting and conferencing. This mic is pretty good and it receives signals almost perfectly. The multi-card reader helps you in reading memory cards of different formats and hence data accessing is easier than ever with the AIO-101.

Thus, as we have deeply gone through the very details of almost all the features of the Advent AIO-101, it can well be said that they are pretty useful and are also very unique. These features have perfectly complemented its beautiful design.

Performance:

The overall performance of the AIO-101 is pretty good. Moreover, the features that are discussed above boost the performance to a greater extent. But it is always better to have a closer look at the audio, video and overall performances of the system in order to have a better idea. Let us look at these aspects so as to see how good they are.

Video Performance:
The video performance of the AIO-101 has mostly been covered under the display and graphics sections. But on the whole the performance is good. Even if it is not as captivating as the displays that you will find on the best computers, it is satisfactory.

Audio Performance:
This has rather been one of those aspects of the AIO-101 that led to a slight disappointment. The built in speakers are less impressive and also did not produce great acoustics. This means that you will need to connect external speakers if you want great sound quality. But even then, you cannot connect a surround sound speakers system like the 5.1 channel sound system because there is no digital audio output. Thus you have to remain satisfied with just stereo speakers, just because there is no other go. Or you can also connect a headphone to the jack that is provided. This has really been the disappointing aspect of the AIO-101.

Therefore, it can be concluded that although the design and features sections are almost perfect in order to make it a buyable PC, the audio performance did not meet the standards. Even then, there is nothing much to worry because it was observed that almost no computer is perfect and there will certainly be a few weak points in every system in the market. Hence, this is not such a serious problem. Since everything else is good and more than satisfactory, you can consider these weaker sections because another important thing that is to be kept in mind is that this computer is a rather cheaper one when compared to most of its counterparts. Therefore, you cannot expect everything to be perfect.

Power Consumption:

The power that the AIO-101 consumes on an average is really very good. When the system is idle, it consumes about 39 W of power. When there are many programs running at a time, then on an average, the peak power that is consumed is just about 56 W. This is very good news as these power consumption ratings are very good when you look at the average ratings and also the ratings of the prime computers in the market. So, the AIO-101 not only saves lots of bucks, but also it protects the environment.

Warranty:

The Advent AIO-101 has been warranted for parts and labour, for a period of one year from the date of purchase.

Verdict:

The Advent AIO-101 is a bit of a surprise at first instance. It may have shocked many other brands in the market with its catchy design and good features. The design part of the computer is the most attractive one as it does not occupy much place. The screen is also pretty flexible with viewing angles and Advent has always been up to date with technology and it is clearly evident in the very unique and useful features of it. But when it comes to performance, the AIO-101 is a step behind the elite desktop computers in the market. The remaining of the system is nearly perfect and it can be one of your better choices if ever you wanted a sleek and good computer that occupies minimum space and that which comes for such a reasonable rate. But if you can afford a few more bucks, then you may choose a better desktop computer, with more advanced features and performance aspects. But all is well with the AIO-101.

Check other Advent Desktop PC Reviews, Specs in this website.

Advent AIO-101 Computer - Technical Specification Table

The Pros:

• Touch Screen interface, with multi–touch feature.
• Impressive audio and image display quality.
• 16:9 Aspect ratio with a high resolution.
• A wide range of custom applications, which can be fully controlled through the touch screen interface.
• Absorbs low power and is not noisy.
• Elegant, chick and stylish outlook.

The Cons:

• 3D gaming performance and an application performance is not much impressive.
• Image quality tends to detract from the glossy display.
• The touch enabled custom applications can get a bit tacky.
• Lack of upgradable components.
• Not future proof.

Review:

Hewlett Packard or HP has been a widespread name when it comes to technology. From its very beginning, it has gifted the technology market with products which were uniquely distinguished and have also been user favourites for years. Hewlett Packard has its own designation amongst other companies when it comes to the touch–input technology. To be precise, HP was the first internationally acclaimed company to present an all in one touch–based PC to the international market and ever since then, this trailblazer company has integrated the latest touch input technology into a number of products in its consumer and business spheres, including the series of TouchSmart all–in–one desktop PC range. Even though with the advent of Windows 7 with its notable touch screen capabilities, the TouchSmart series was rather one of the first ones in the league of multi–touch desktop PC’s when it was first launched into the international market.

The Modification:

The HP TouchSmart 600 Desktop PC is one of the latest and a very prestigious release from the manufacturers. This desktop PC is a result of a lot of culmination and up gradation, keeping in mind the good qualities of the other similar devices launched before this. The predecessor of this model the HP TouchSmart 300 series had a 20 inch touch screen, which has been modified to a 23 inch touch screen in the TouchSmart 600 series. But other than the enlarged screen size and specifications, the TouchSmart 300 and TouchSmart 600 series are pretty similar to each other in more than one way. They have the similar 16:9 ratio widescreen display, a horde of touch feature enabled applications and the similar base as well. And other than this, the latest HP TouchSmart 600 edition has an additional bevy of touch enabled custom applications as well, which are quite handy and appealing to users.

Design:

The Outlook:
The Hewlett Packard TouchSmart 600 Desktop Computer, in spite of being an all in one touch screen pc has the basic outlook of a generalised monitor. The monitor has this deceptive appearance which is more into the limelight because of its rough 1.5 inch bezel and the stereo speakers which are mounted on the front side. Other than this, a webcam and stereo mic holes are also centrally placed in the top bezel in the fascia of the monitor. The face of the monitor also shelters a HP TouchSmart button which is present in the lower right corner of the bottom bezel. The function of this button is to power up the system if it is in standby mode, or to initiate the HP TouchSmart suite if the system is already running.

Another interesting feature in the cosmetics of the monitor is the HP Ambient light, a bluish light emission, which illuminates beneath the system space. The source of this ambient light is hidden behind the lower bezel of the system and its illumination, colour and brightness can be manipulated and set by the user according to their own will with the use of software.

Ergonomics:
The HP TouchSmart 600 all in one desktop PC has a very stylish and attractive appearance. The piano black finish, which is basically the glossy black colour of the plastic finish of the bezel is separated from the front speakers by chrome accents or a silver lining. The base colour is the same glossy black overall, other than the sides of the device, which is silver. This device has a 23 inch display with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and has a high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The basic dimensions of the PC is 17.75” x 13” x 2.83 (H x W x D) excluding the stand. The stand is an exclusive feature which provides base when it is used on desk or can provide hinge support if hanged on a wall. When acting as a base, the stand opens up to something between 5 to 40 degrees.

Surface Features:
Various ports and connectors are present on the surface of the device for user convenience. Most of them are placed on the rear side of the system. The main power connector is, along with a single security lock slot and a USB port can be found on the rear side. The webcam is located above the frontal upper bezel and behind this is a small lever which can be used to adjust the angle of tilt for the webcam. On the right hand side of the system, there is the main power button. Other than this, a slot loading Blu ray drive is also present beneath the power button. The right hand side of the system also locates the volume control keys, activity light for the hard disk, and a memory card reader.

Similarly, on the left hand side of the system, a few more slots and ports are located. It houses the composite Audio and Video inputs and HDMI, the HP Ambient light button, two 2.0 USB ports and jacks for mic and headphone. The main advantage of the audio / video inputs is that users can connect game consoles as well, and enjoy the full utilisation of the HP TouchSmart desktop PC’s display and resolution. To cycle through the different audio and video inputs, a source button is located just above the HDMI slots.

Other Ports:
There is a connection cover on the left hand side of the system, which hides the other ports and connections from view. Underneath this cover is another large range of ports and jacks. It places another three USB 2.0 ports, a digital audio output (SPDIF), a Gigabit Ethernet connector, a coaxial TV input, an analog audio output, S-video input, another audio input and an IR out. The IR out is a connection port which is used with the complimentary IR blaster cable within the package. With so many ports, if the user thinks the basic appearance would be very tacky, then they are wrong. With the presence of a very smartly designed clip and cut outs, the cover can be reattached, even after everything is plugged in, as all the cables are very well managed and routed out. Thus, the overall appeal of the system is restored and this eye candy has yet another plus point to attract users who have a fetish for style quotient of their system.

Thus, the HP TouchSmart 600 desktop PC with 23″ High Definition Widescreen scores very high in the style quotient with its amazing design and finishing. Moreover, with the well organised ports and connections and with the fully touch operated monitor and the wireless keyboard and mouse, this device is any techno freak’s dream child. With more than enough options for attachments and connections, and with a very smooth finishing, and to top it all, the HP ambient light, all of it makes this device noteworthy. The HP TouchSmart 600 is sure an eye candy and users cannot help noticing it.

Features:

As far as the configuration of the system is concerned, HP offers its TouchSmart 600 in a wide range of them. You can find the various configurations in the table below.

Configurations Available:

The Touch screen:
The best feature of the HP TouchSmart 600 desktop PC is its multifunctional touch screen and the wide variety of uses it can be put to by the users. The touch screen of this system is so productive and functional that a user can manage almost everything virtually without the use of keyboard and mouse. Textual input can be done by virtual onscreen keyboard supported by a built in tablet PC input panel supported by Windows 7, and the system also has handwriting recognizing abilities.

The HP TouchSmart Suite:
The HP TouchSmart suite is basically a collection of ‘Tiles’ or individual modules of various applications. The basic array is placed in the above two thirds of the screen horizontally and another small array of these tiles are present at the bottom of the screen. However, the order and priority of these tiles can be changed or manipulated by the user. A user can decide which tiles should be placed in the top array and which ones are to be placed in the bottom array. Moreover the order can be changed, as in which tile should come first and which one later, is also user controlled. The larger tiles include many shortcuts to networking sites like twitter, Netflix etc, along with other necessary ones, like Music, Videos, Tutorial, Webcam and Notes. The smaller tiles include supporting assets like weather, HP Ambient Light, DVD, Help and Support, Clock, Calendar, Live TV, RSS Feeds and Browser. Towards the lower right hand corner of the screen, there is a personalize button. The basic function of this feature is that users can manage and organize the tiles, and allows the user to customize settings for the tiles, desktop and other applications.

The Other Handy Applications:
The most basic application for new users, the Tutorial application gives a good overview about the system and helps users to understand the working of the system. There are two containing tutorial videos–one is a demonstration video guiding users to navigate around the HP TouchSmart interface. And the other one demonstrates the function and working of the Canvas application. Then, there is the Music application, which is an all in one music player which also has integrated support for Paroda and Rhapsody.  The Video application, the Twitter, Netflix tiles etc, have the basic functions like in any other system.

The Cooler Ones:
The Canvas and the Recipe Box applications are two cool applications which snatch away the limelight. The Canvas application makes the most out of the touch screen interface of this system. This application is basically an image viewing and editing software, which allows users to rotate, zoom in and out, and move images here and there with a lot of gestures in multi–touch. Other than this, the application cannot do much more than photo tagging, editing pictures and making photo collages, but the concept of doing all this by touch is what makes it so interesting.

The Recipe Box is basically used to cache and import recipes or data from various web pages into the recipe box. Moreover, it has some exceptional tricks to serve the users. For example, it has voice commands enabled, which helps users a lot to co-ordinate with the software instantly while preparing a recipe. Other than this, there is the Hulu desktop application, which helps the users to watch hulu shows, even though it is a bit clunky to search and navigate for titles. And there is also a Webcam application, which as the name suggests is what allows users to capture photos, videos, save them or upload them on net. Additional to this, this application also includes the use of emoticons, avatars, frames, filters or distortions to add to the live or pre recorded video which makes it more appealing and fun.

The Small Tiles:
The Smaller tiles, as mentioned earlier is a host to a list of basic applications. It includes Notes application, the weather and clock display applications. The photo application allows users to view photo files, edit them, upload them on networking sites, create and play slide-shows, burn images into CD or DVD’s and tag them. The Live TV application enables users to watch and record live TV on their system, and schedule and organize using the programs guide in the application module. The buggy RSS Feeds application does nothing more than its basic job, and the same goes for the browser. Other than that, there is the calendar application, and the HP ambient light software, which lets user select the kind of ambience they want by customising the light shade, its brightness and intensity.

Thus, almost all of these applications can be executed with or without enabling the HP TouchSmart suite. Enabling the TouchSmart suite would simply enable the selection and working of these applications, by the user, through a touch interface.

Application Drawbacks:
With the wide variety of software and applications, the HP TouchSmart 600 wireless desktop PC has a few faults in its working and functioning. The basic issue was with the HP TouchSmart suite. At times, the interface seems to be very sluggish as it takes time to respond to the touch input of a user. Moreover, a number of the above mentioned applications tend to stop or crash at times. This problem is more with the video playback applications, especially the ones which require video streaming.
But other than these petty issues, the system’s interface works fine in general and when no problem as such pops up, the video streaming and playback is quite good and is complimented by a very impressive audio quality which is very clear and crisp without any noticeable distortion. And if users watch videos or movies via actual DVD or Blue Ray disc, the experience is literally flawless.

Performance:

The HP TouchSmart 600 PC is way advanced if we consider its hardware configuration and technical specifications. Even then, it cannot be called anything close to a computing powerhouse. Though with the technical specifications it has, it is obvious that the system cannot surpass all kind of performance records. But somehow, the level of expectation still remains a bit high than the actual capability of this device. This device might easily carry out any basic tasks but might have difficulty to execute anything above the basic threshold at times.

Another problem with the performance of the device is that, it has a dual core processor. And nowadays, most of the modern day software which is released requires a multi core processor base. Nowadays, more and more software and applications are being designed for the multi core system devices, which the HP TouchSmart 600 will not support. Comparing the present situation, the system is passable for many present day applications, but then for the near future to come in the multi–threaded application world, the device would be of no great importance. Thus, this system, no matter how advanced and modified it is, is not a future-proof device.
The overall performance of this system is near about average, though it scores a bit less than expectation when it comes to the application and 3D gaming related performance. The TouchSmart 600 has some notable great features but has very less room to grow. Upgradation or modification of the system is not quite possible. It offers a modest level of performance, and considering the fact that none of the systems components are upgradable, the system does not seem to be one which would keep its position stable in the market in the years to come. Not recommended for hardcore gamers or hi-performance oriented system craving users. But if a user is looking for a modest system with a general approach towards computing along with the basic multimedia capabilities, this device would be a very good choice for them.

Gaming:
This all in one touch interface desktop pc is surely not for serious hardcore gamers, as they would have to make some compromises while playing games in this system, which would render their gaming experience. With the technical specifications of the device and based on the quality settings a user prefers, they would have to co operate with the screen resolution, the display quality and gaming performance at times. But however, that is a common problem with most all in one PC’s, as they pull a lot of load. Thus, the system is good enough for regular gaming and is a bit above average, but then this is not much recommended for serious hardcore gamers.

Power Eater:
The HP TouchSmart 600 desktop PC does not have anything called the power saver mode, nor does it understand anything like that. At times, the systems power consumption rises to quite an extent which is a bit high compared to other machines of its league. And at times, when in idle or sleep mode, the device consumes almost negligible energy. Though it might sound a very balanced power consumption scheme, but then with the extra bit of power consumption, when the system is carrying full load, does add up a bit in bills.

Warranty:

The HP TouchSmart 600 Desktop PC comes with a limited one year pick up and return parts and labour manufacturer’s warranty.

Verdict:

The HP TouchSmart 600 PC has brought up a lot of modifications and upgradations in terms of working and outlook. With its rather minimal design, HDMI to support game consoles, and a cover hidden array of ports and connection jacks, the device manages to stagnate the classy look about it. With the clear and crisp display quality of the screen, and an impressive sound system with a great sound quality, the device is pretty good when it comes to images, audio and video playback. But obviously, the touch screen interface of this PC is what steals the limelight. The HP TouchSmart 600 also sports a whole range of varied applications, some of which are very unique and cool, while some are not noteworthy. And the best part is that all these applications can are multi–touch operated. Other than a few glitches, while running a few applications, and the faulty video streaming, everything else about this system is just fine. As multi touch gesture and mode of input is becoming more and more pervasive in the world of computers and computing, the TouchSmart 600 is definitely one which overpowers its minor twitches with its innumerable benefits and advantages.
Considering the price tag for this system, users might not be eager to buy this device, as they can plunk in a lot less money and get home a better system, going by the specifications. But then, with its elegant fusion of working ability, its appearance, and that it is a all in one touch interface desktop PC, it is worthy enough for the money. With its classy and appealing appearance, its enormous range of features and applications, and its commendable functioning, the Hewlett Packard TouchSmart 600 Desktop PC is surely a notable device amongst others. This system is surely a subtle nuance but then, a very important one.

HP TouchSmart 600 PC - Technical Specification Table