Desktop PCs

Overview:

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!

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HP Pavilion P6300UK – Technical Specification Details

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