I Review the HP Pavilion M8430F Desktop PC

HP has jumped all over the multimedia PC market. And why not, it is one of the fastest growing markets for consumer desktops right now. This is a result of the recent boom in entertainment center sales which has been fueled by the drop in prices of high definition television sets. It is also good news for those in the hunt for a new desktop because as we all know when the competition gets hot the consumer becomes the real winner. With manufacturers fighting over your dollar, especially with the economy in the state it is in I've seen some real bargains emerge. In this review I've had a chance to get a hold of HP's M8430F which is a mid level entry into the multimedia desktop genre. I'm going to let you know what it has to offer and where you'll get the most mileage from it.

Hardware:

Tuner: NTSC / ATSC

Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Storage: 750GB hard drive

RAM: 4GB of RAM (expandable up to 8GB of RAM)

Optical Drive: CD R/RW with integrated DVD +/- R RW burner

Includes: remote control, keyboard and mouse

Operating system: Windows Home Vista Premium

Graphics Accelerator: NVidia GeForce 8500 GT (uses both dedicated and shared RAM)

This isn't a huge upgrade over their lower end more "budget models" of entertainment PC's. I see some additional strength in the way of added RAM and some processor power but for the most part it is very similar to the more inexpensive HP's. This desktop runs great, I love the 4GB of RAM, and it is adequate for serious multi tasking and game play.

The huge hard drive is excellent and can be expanded using HP's proprietary Bay system for memory expansion. This is a great feature if you happen to have more than one of these bad boys or if you have friends that also use the same HP multimedia PC's.

Connectivity:

Integrated WiFi (to connect to wireless networks)

1 Ethernet Port (to connect to a wired LAN)

6 2.0 USB (to connect to any number of peripherals like digital cameras, MP3 players and printers)

2 FireWire (to transfer data from digital camcorders or other devices / PC's)

1 VGA port (to connect to a standard monitor)

1 HDMI output (to connect to a High definition television)

1 DVI (to connect to some TV's or monitors)

1 S-Video (typically used to connect to a projector but could be used to connect to some TV's)

1 composite (to connect to televisions)

15 in 1 memory card reader (use this to download information from portable devices by simply removing and inserting the memory card into your desktop)

The connectivity really steps it up a notch compared to the "budget models". With the addition of HDMI you really open up your entertainment center options. The M8430F would function very well as the heart of any nice entertainment center. With its audio and video outputs it is unlikely you'll even need a receiver.

Use this to act as your digital video recorder, game system or even for homework and web browsing. This thing could own a living room. It would also make a college student very happy or do well in the office environment especially with the ease of the exchangeable hard drives brings. This is a great desktop from HP.