HP’s effort to revamp m9500 PCs created Pavilion Elite m9600 series desktop computers. While this brand new offering from HP is designed to meet your day-to-day needs it may not be beneficial to you if you overlook its hardware specification since it offers wide selection of hard ware add-ons. Choose the right m9600 PC that will tailor to your needs. The three varieties offered under the banner of m9600 series are: m9652uk, m9660uk, and m9675uk which barely share any similar features but promises utmost performance underlying all its hardware components.

At a Glance

m9652uk (NQ813AA) m9660uk (VG149AA) m9675uk (NQ883AA)
Processor type AMD Phenom™ X4 processor 9750 AMD Phenom™ Phenom II X4 925 Intel® Core™ i7 processor 920
Chipset NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9100 chipset NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9100 chipset Intel® X58 Express Chipset
Memory DDR2-SDRAM DDR2-SDRAM DDR3-SDRAM
Memory slots 4 DIMM sockets 4 DIMM sockets 6 DIMM sockets
External hard disk drive HP Pocket Media Drive sold separately HP Personal Media Drive and HP Pocket Media Drive sold separately HP Pocket Media Drive sold separately
Network interface Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface Ethernet 10/100/1000BT integrated network interface
Graphic subsystem name NVIDIA® GeForce™ GT130 with PureVideo® HD technology NVIDIA® GeForce™ GT130 with PureVideo® HD technology NVIDIA® GeForce™ GT120 with PureVideo® HD technology
Video RAM 768 MB dedicated memory, up to 2559 MB total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista® 768 MB dedicated memory, up to 2559 MB total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista® 1024 MB dedicated memory, up to 3070 MB total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista®
Video adapter, bus 1 PCI-Express 16x 1 PCI-Express 16x 2 PCI-Express 16x
Expansion slots 2 PCI-Express 1x (2 free) 2 PCI-Express 1x (2 free) 1 PCI-Express 1x , 1 PCI-Express 4x, 2 PCI-Express 16x (1 free)
External I/O ports 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front) 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front) 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front); 2 eSata ports

Design

Sleek and glossy finish wraps the exterior finish of this desktop PC. When you position this shiny device at your office or home-office it looks remarkably compact and unobtrusive.

Silver band runs across its face giving it a classy look. On the top and along the right side, you can see the bays for HP’s removable external hard drives. Vents for exhaust fan are located sideways. At the front-end you will also find one-touch back-up button adding an increased layer of protection.
Separate landing pad for USB and 1394 devices are located on top of the PC, enabling easy and quick access to all external devices.

The system comes without any monitor. But you can attach LCD Monitors with this desktop PC. Monitor go well with this desktop PC are HP 2009v 20-inch Wide Flat Panel Monitor, HP 2159m 21.5-inch Wide Flat Panel Monitor, HP 2309m 23-inch Wide Flat Panel Monitor, HP w2448hc 24″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor, and HP w2558hc 25.5-inch Wide Flat Panel Monitor.

HP Pavilion Elite m9600 Desktop PC

Inside the PC

HP Pavilion Elite m9600 series desktop PCs come in three varieties: m9652uk, M9660uk, and m9675uk. The internal components of each of these models widely vary depending on the series of the system. For m9652uk series it comes with AMD Phenom™ X4 9750 processor,  m9660uk is pre-configured to support AMD Phenom™ Phenom II X4 925 processor, and m9675uk comes with Intel® Core™ i7 920 processor.

The same variations are true for the storage unit except all of them have standard 4GB RAM. However, as you open the storage component of m9660uk and m9652uk series desktop PCs you will find DDR2-SDRAM whereas m9675uk comprises of DDR3-SDRAM. 4 DIMM sockets are available for m9660uk and m9652uk series and m9675uk comes with 6 DIMM sockets. But the storage controller is same for all the models. The SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive offers 1TB drive space. In terms of external hard drive m9660uk comes with HP Personal Media Drive and HP Pocket Media Drive. The m9652uk and m9675uk are configured to support HP Pocket Media Drive. Drives are sold separately.

Chipset offered also differs on its make. The m9675uk is built on Intel® X58 Express Chipset, m9660uk and m9652uk on NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9100 chipset.

The optical drive type is similar for all the series featuring Blu-ray player and SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe Technology offering disc labels prints directly from your PC.

For m9675uk the RAM allocated for video output includes 1024 MB dedicated memory for up to 3070 MB as allocated by Windows Vista®. For m9660uk and m9652uk memory allocated is768 MB dedicated memory, up to 2559 MB total available graphics memory as available to Windows Vista®. Graphics options are NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GS and 9800 GT or an ATI Radeon HD 4850.

Video adapter supports 1 PCI-Express, 2 PCI-Express 16x. Video capture interface is preconfigured to support IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface.

Networking capabilities include Ethernet 10/100/1000BT integrated network interface for m9675uk and Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface for m9660uk and m9652uk.  External I/O ports include 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front) for m9660uk / m9652uk and  6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front); 2 eSata ports for m9675uk PCs. Expansion slots supports 1 PCI-Express 1x , 1 PCI-Express 4x, 2 PCI-Express 16x (1 free).

Software bundle offers wide collection of applications and software. All HP Pavilion Elite m9600 series desktop PCs come preinstalled with Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit operating system. For supporting day-to-day tasks the system offers Microsoft® Works and Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-Day Trial Version). For browsing internet it offers Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0; Windows Mail. PDF support is provided by Adobe® Reader 8.0. Windows Media Centre acts as all-in-one software supporting your educational, reference, and entertainment needs.

Optical drive driver software includes HP MediaSmart Suite for your music, Video, DVD, and Photo. Other software products include Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker, Cyberlink DVDSuite, Muvee Auto Producer, EasyBits Magic Desktop, and HP Games Console with hours of free game play, featuring EA™ Spore™ Creature Creator.

Recovery partition feature is also included which offers possibility to recover system, applications and drivers separately, and also optional re-allocation of recovery partition, recovery CD/DVD creation tool, Symantec™ Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (60 days live update).

The system is under 12 month’s warranty. But the warranty coverage is expandable for up to 3 years.

Performance

Depending on your requirement you should select the hardware and software specification of HP Pavilion Elite m9600 PC. Huge software bundle is definitely a plus. HP MediaSmart Suite makes life real easy, especially when you are watching movie or viewing your family album. Storage is not an issue with this desktop PC but you may need some room to upgrade your RAM. Wide storage unit makes it easy to save all your personal and professional data in a single location. But skimpy memory sometimes makes it harder to retrieve large data. The combination of a Intel/ AMD Phenom processor, 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and a discrete nVidia GeForce 9600 GS and 9800 GT or an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics chip gives you enough juice for day-to-day applications, as well as fancier Windows Vista features translucent Flip 3D task switcher and the Aero Glass visual effects. You may notice occasional dropped frames in DVD movie playback. Even then, the video image quality is outstanding thanks to the wide-aspect glossy screen. But this power and gloss are not meant for gaming. Overall, you will not be disappointed with HP Pavilion Elite m9600 series PC’s power and performance.

HP Pavilion Elite m9600 Desktop PC Technical Specification Details
Processor, operating system and memory
Operating system installed Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
Processor type m9652uk : AMD Phenom™ X4 processor 9750
m9660uk : AMD Phenom™Phenom II X4 925
m9675uk : Intel® Core™ i7 processor 920
Chipset m9675uk : Intel® X58 Express Chipset
m9660uk / m9652uk : NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9100 chipset
Standard memory 4GB
Memory m9660uk / m9652uk : DDR2-SDRAM

m9675uk : DDR3-SDRAM

Memory slots m9660uk / m9652uk : 4 DIMM sockets
m9675uk : 6 DIMM sockets
Internal drives
Storage controller SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive
Internal drives 1 TB
Hard disk drive speed (5400 rpm)
External hard disk drive m9660uk : HP Personal Media Drive and HP Pocket Media
Drive sold separately
m9652uk / m9675uk : HP Pocket Media Drive sold separately
Optical drive type Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner with
LightScribe Technology
Lightscribe Create silkscreen-quality disc labels direct from your PC
with LightScribe: Just burn, flip, burn.
System features
Memory card device 15in1 memory card reader
Network interface m9675uk : Ethernet 10/100/1000BT integrated network interface

m9660uk / m9652uk : Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface

Wireless technologies Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n PCI-Ex1
External I/O ports m9660uk / m9652uk : 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front);
2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front)
m9675uk : 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front);
2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front); 2 eSata ports
Expansion slots m9675uk : 1 PCI-Express 1x , 1 PCI-Express 4x, 2 PCI-Express 16x (1 free)
m9660uk / m9652uk : 2 PCI-Express 1x (2 free)
Display LCD Monitors (buy separately): HP 2009v 20″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor,
HP 2159m 21.5″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor,
HP 2309m 23″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor,
HP w2448hc 24″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor,
HP w2558hc 25.5″ Wide Flat Panel Monitor
Video RAM m9675uk : 1024 MB dedicated memory, up to 3070 MB total
available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista®
m9660uk / m9652uk : 768 MB dedicated memory, up to 2559 MB
total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista®
Video adapter, bus m9660uk / m9652uk : 1 PCI-Express 16x
m9675uk : 2 PCI-Express 16x
Video capture interface IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface
Control panel HP Easy Backup button
Remote control HP Vista Media Centre Remote Control
Internal audio m9660uk / m9652uk : High Definition Audio 7.1
Keyboard Wireless keyboard and optical mouse
Software
Software - Productivity & finance Microsoft® Works and Microsoft® Office Home and
Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version
Pre-installed software Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0; Windows Mail; Adobe® Reader 8.0
Optical drive driver software HP MediaSmart Suite : Music, Video, DVD, Photo ;
Windows Photo Gallery ; Windows Media Player ;
Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker ;
Cyberlink DVDSuite ; Muvee AutoProducer ;
EasyBits Magic Desktop ; HP Games Console with hours
of free game play, featuring EA™ Spore™ Creature Creator
Software - education / reference / entertainment Windows Media Centre
Software included Recovery partition (including possibility to recover
system, applications and drivers separately);
Optional re-allocation of recovery partition;
Recovery CD/DVD creation tool; Symantec™
Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (60 days live update)
Dimensions / weight / warranty
Product weight 15 kg
Package weight 17 kg
Product dimensions (W x D x H) 178 x 422 x 394 mm
Package dimensions (W x D x H) 295 x 505 x 510 mm
Warranty 1 year, pick-up and return, parts and labour
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