A Solid Computer
Written: Oct 23 '00 (Updated Oct 25 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sturdy, easy to operate and setup
Cons: Windows ME processes are constantly freezing up
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| weslake's Full Review: HP Pavilion 4530 |
I purchased the HP Pavillion 8755C at Staples on October 15, 2000 as a replacement for my old computer, which is now 5 years old and can no longer do a lot of the things I want to be able to do (such as using a digital camcorder with the computer, having USB ports, etc.). I chose HP because at work I have been using a new HP Vectra VL with a PIII-600Mhz processor, and have found that it is a fairly sturdy and powerful system.
Within a week of owning the system I have frequently crashed processes. I think that it has more to do with the new Windows ME operating system than with the computer itself. It can get quite frustrating to constantly hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to end tasks that are not responding. Fortunately I have not seen the full blue screen of death yet. (October 24, 2000 - I have now officially seen the blue screen of death). Perhaps HP could have gone with Windows 98 as an operating system as Windows ME seems to have an awful lot of problems.
I am now on the 9th day of computer ownership and I tried something "new" - customizing the appearance of the desktop using "Microsoft Plus!" which is pre-installed. Having done that, now whenever I try to start the computer, it locks solid with a message from Microsoft informing me that I should restore the default Active Desktop settings. Today I will probably have to make use of the HP Recovery CD to restore the PC to its original configuration in order to get it working again.
Some of the "freebies" that keep popping up are very annoying. For example, Yahoo is relentless in its pursuit to get you to sign up with them every time you log onto the internet unless you disable the feature. As well, every time you put a CD in, an HP Jukebox program engages that I have not been able to figure out. I hit the play button to try to get some tunes going, but all I ever get to listen to is silence. Fortunately there is a Windows Media player that works. The HP Jukebox is seemingly impossible to disable.
I have found that reading information off a data CD is somewhat slow compared to other computers, and even with the "super fast Pentium III processor" there are periods of time where the music from a CD stops playing momentarily (drop-outs), especially if a lot of file copying or something of that sort is occurring.
A fairly large negative has been discovered. When I took apart the computer to install a Firewire card, I soon came to the realization that although it looks like there are a a lot of expansion slot areas on the case, there are actually only two more expansion slots available on the PCI board. I am the kind of person who likes a lot of slots - and now I have merely one left. I also discovered that in order to install new cards into the PCI slots, the power supply has to be unscrewed and pushed aside to open up enough room to get in there.
Positives are that the computer is fairly easy to take apart to add stuff, it's a solid machine (like all HP's are), and the graphics are very nice. The computer was also very easy to set up and get going. All I had to do basically was take it out of the box and plug it in. I was on the internet within seconds.
As a result of the list of negatives increasing with this system, I am now forced to downgrade my original opinion from a 4 to a 3. It's probably a really good system, but it's unfortunate the operating system (Windows ME) is so problematic.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1399
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 701-800
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
weslake
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Location: Vancouver, Canada
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 2 members
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