AMD Powered HP Pavilion A6430F Product Review

Desktops coming in under $1000 are often some of the most popular. Unfortunately there are far more "bad deals" then there are "good deals". One of the most popular models has been the HP Pavilion A6430F. I've decided to get my hands on one and find out which category this desktop falls into. I'm going to take it for a spin and let you know how well it performs for me, and if it is worth your hard earned money.

Hardware:

Processor: 2.10 GHz AMD Phenom X3 8400 triple-core

Storage Space: a 640 GB total capacity (this is from (2) 320 GB hard drives)

RAM: 3GB of RAM (this is upgradable to an 8 GB maxium)

Optical Drive: a CD R/RW with integrated 16x dual-layer DVD +/- burner

Expandability: Open drive bay for an HP external drive

Graphics Accelerator: an Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE graphics accelerator (which utilizes up to 1343 MB of total available dedicated and system memory)

This triple core processor is enough to make sure this desktop doesn't experience any lag and executes Windows Vista flawlessly. The boot time is minimal and can be even further reduced by removing most of the unneeded trial-ware that come preinstalled thanks to HP. Many of these titles aren't even needed thanks to the software bound with Windows Vista. The dual hard drives provide this desktop with plenty of memory and the 3GB of RAM is more than adequate (however if you do decide to upgrade then it is expandable to an 8 GB maximum.

Connectivity:

6 2.0 USB ports (these are the standard connections for peripherals such as printers, digital cameras and mp3 players)

2 FireWire ports (these are designed for high speed transfer and can be between digital camcorders or even other compatible PCs)

2 PS/2 ports (old school input device ports)

1 VGA port (this is a typical monitor connection)

2 audio outputs / 2 microphone inputs

Standard surround sound 3 speaker outputs

15 in 1 media card reader (these slots allow the consumer to directly insert memory from their mobile devices into the PC)

1 Ethernet port (this is used to connect to a wired LAN)

1 56K modem port (this allows for the computer to dial up an internet connection)

It has all of the connectivity most users will desire. It is missing a high definition output however many large flat panels may have a VGA input. The average online retail price on this HP is a remarkable $700 which is a real bargain in my opinion. I've seen people buy a whole lot less computer for a whole lot more money. I don't foresee this to really experience much in the way of price reductions simply because it is currently such a good deal.