OT But Please Help. HP Pavilion PCs

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coldsteel03

Joined
Jan 10, 2003
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Do any of you out there own one of these PCs? I looking to buy a HP Pavilion 304 from Wal-Mart it is only $498. I really dont need anything fancy just something to do basic computer and games and go on line of course. If any of you could help me, Your help would be greatly appreciated. Im just sick of this Web/Tv bull. I want a real PC.=-) Thanks for any info.
 
I have an older Pavillion that I got three years ago, and was top of the line at the time. Works great, but as with anything, buy the best you can afford. It will last you longer.

The one that you listed looks ok, just make sure to buy as much RAM as you can, say about a Gigabyte. Also I have never heard of that graphics card. It looks like one of those that will share your main memory.
 
check the specs on the motherboard to make sure it will handle a gig of ram . Which is not really needed for what you are going to do.
256 meg should be fine. Which processor does it have ?
If it is a Celeron I wouldnt even bother with 1 gig of ram.
Is is PC133 or DDR PC2100 ram ?

Get the best you can afford. You can find them online thru walmart without an Operating System as well.If you want to go with store bought I would rather buy from Best Buy over Wal Mart .

I have seen people buy these bargain machines and add a CD Burner , more ram etc etc and the power supply just can't handle it .

Just like a custom blade....better to go first class the first time.
Just my humble opinion....research first.

(( If there is a best buy near you - check out their 18 month same as cash deal. Circuit City sometimes offers this as well )).

Hope this helps.
 
Save yourself the trouble.
My friend use to work for HP, and he specifically warned me that there's only one product line from HP that's worth buying, and he said that no way that HP's desktop is good.
IMO do some research and buy a computer that's built with standard parts.
Often (well more so with laptops and older computers), big name manufacturers tend to build their PCs with proprietary parts.
Spend some more, and build a computer that would last you.
I have a friend who went to these stores that build computers from standard parts, but they went the cheap price path. She bought an Athlon 800 with generic 250W power supply (disregarding the fact that Athlons require at least 300W power supplies). Needless to say, the power supply fried. I end up having to check out the computer, help her pick out some parts (she did an upgrade at the same time too) to get her computer back working.
You've been warned.
 
for basic internet surfing, games and word processing you don't need that much processing power....1.5Ghz to 2.0Ghz should be enough...

Most importantly get enough ram...i would think that 256MB is not the norm nowadays...get at least 512MB...you don't need 1GHz...that's just way too much...

I would also suggest trying to build your own computer...well you could get someone to do it for you...but that way you can get the parts that you want ... maybe you could use an Nforce motherboard which already has acceptable graphics performance...and it's quite cheap...

i wouldn't buy an HP or other 'branded' pc's anymore...they have loads of upgrading problems...i have a Dell...but that was an emergency buy...had to finish up my final year thesis...

so look for specs like
P4 1.5 to 2.0GHz /AMD Athlong (this runs hotter though but is cheaper than a P4)

512MB Ram
Onboard SOund
Onboard graphics


have you seen the shuttle spacewalker pc's? they're small and cool looking and would be able to do what you need to do with 'em...all you need to buy after that is a monitor...
 
Pavillion

specs:

* HP MX70 17-inch color monitor (15.8 inches viewable)
* AMD Athlon XP 1800+ processor
* 128 Kb primary cache
* 256 Kb secondary-level cache
* 266 MHz frontside bus
* 128 MB DDR SDRAM, expandable to 2 GB
* 2100 MB/sec. memory speed
* 40 GB ultra DMA hard drive
* 32x10x40 CD-Writer
* 56 Kbps V.90 modem (actual speeds may vary)
* Integrated 10/100 Base-T network interface
* Integrated ProSavage DDR KM266 graphics with up to 32 MB shared video memory
* MPEG2 for full-motion digital video
* 3.5-inch floppy disk drive (1.44 MB)
* Internal 3.5-inch expansion bay
* External 5.25-inch expansion bay
* 2 available PCI slots
* AGP expansion slot
* 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 front-mounted)
* Serial port
* Parallel port
* Integrated AC-97 audio
* Polk Audio stereo speakers
* Keyboard
* 2-button, scrolling mouse
* Software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, WordPerfect 10, Quattro Pro 10, Quicken Financial Center, Norton Anti-Virus 2002, MusicMatch Jukebox, Fun House, Arcsoft PhotoImpression and HP RecordNow
 
Is that the system for UNDER $500 ? Green light and grab it if it is. For what you are looking for that will be a smookin deal. You can add more ram later....check that power supply though...Athlons are power hungry bastids....
 
Dell has been advertising there base model desktop on Tv as going for $600. If you ask me, its worth the extra $100 to get one compared to a HP. It's not that HP's are that bad, When I used to install home networks, I wouldn't worry if I seen one, but I would aggree that when it comes to computers, try to get the best you can afford.
 
Where is a good place to buy parts online?

I'm specifically looking for motherboards, processors, RAM, power supplies, ect.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!
 
Pricewatch looks like a referral site, and has the combo's I'm looking for, thanks!

New egg also looks good, but I didn't see any chip/motherboard combo's.

Thanks, guys, for the links.

Anyone else have favorite places to buy parts from?
 
If you look at the parts list you'll see the word "integrated" used a lot. It means that they are using a proprietary motherboard with a lot of peripheral functions on it. If you upgrade your cache you may have to go back to HP to get it. If you want to upgrade your graphics you will need to be able to disable the graphics on the motherboard. If you want to upgrade your sound you will probably have to disable a controller on the motherboard.

I've had an HP before and had trouble upgrading it. With generic PC's I could swap motherboards and keep my peripheral cards. The HP chassis wouldn't fit other motherboards and would have required me to buy a whole set of new peripheral cards if I had. When I wanted to upgrade peripherals I had trouble keeping the drivers from the on-the-motherboard peripherals from being installed and turning off the drivers for my new cards. My HP was the only PC that I owned that was essentially unimproved when I gave it away compared to when I bought it.

I would get a Dell if I went to a big name company.
 
.45Guy;

It seems to be cheaper to buy the motherboard/processor combo, versus buying just the board & the processor seperate.

I'm just getting into the 'build' part of PC's, so I want the board/processor combo to ease things for me. The rest of the stuff (CD drives, HDD's, ect) I have dealt with before, so thats not a prob.

I just picked up an older PC I want to upgrade, and everything else in the case is new, except the motherboard/processor. This is the new style type, and not a socket 7 board, so from what I have been told, upgrading is a piece of cake.

Any other info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
 
WOW!
:eek:

I'd have never thought of doing case mods like those guys!

Maybe I'll paint this case & do some graphics before my daughter gets it.

The case is a full size tower (same size as my Dell 4550; not sure if that is full or mid size), and because of cost, I'm thinking of AMD.

Any other choices for parts dealers on the web?
 
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