Hewlett Packard computers

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well dis doesnt come with a pci-express slot

by nerdyboy1234 Nov 8, 2005 1:04PM PST

so if u dont play games then its a good deal

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PCI expansion slot

by dave_dixon49 Nov 9, 2005 2:00AM PST

According to the specs, there is a pcie slot available.
http://www.hp.ca/products/static/consumer/Fall2005/a1230n.pdf

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well perhaps i was mistaken

by nerdyboy1234 Nov 9, 2005 7:14AM PST

but i would make sure its a pci-express x16 slot and not a pci-express x1 or somethin else b4 u buy it

and also when u upgrade the gfx card remember u have to get a better psu too

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RE:

by damasta55r Nov 8, 2005 1:18PM PST

Look at the newer A1250n. I seen it for as cheap as $599.99 without monitor, computer alone here. Its a dual-core athlon 64 x2 3800, 1GB ram, 250gb hard drive, and comes with pci-express slot.

Roger

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HP

by Alan Copeland Nov 8, 2005 10:53PM PST

I bought my 1020an in May and have been very happy with it. I had a couple of software conflicts between an HP scanner and camera, but they were resolved to my satisfaction. HP support is like everyone else's, it's now off shore, but I have been happy with my experience and will definately buy HP again.

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Compare and fine print reading

by Willy Nov 10, 2005 5:20AM PST

The problem with any OEM type system is the upgrade path, you're limited. Though many can be upgraded, something can amiss easily if you don't get the right part. However, I don't consider any harder to install vs. a homebuild system. Any custom build system tends to lend itself to easily upgrade or even a wholesale swap of mtrbd. etc. to the existing case, not so with OEM. That pretty much covers the basic difference. You should consider what "s/w bundle" is included besides the OS as that can be a healthy bonus or not provided you can use it. Many times, besides the OS installed or not, custom systems have no s/w bundle. So read the fine print on what you get for your money.

tada -----Willy

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HP systems in my book NO

by Dutchmants Nov 11, 2005 3:08AM PST

While HP would be the first company of choice for something like a B&W laser printer for a desktop or laptop system they rank rather low on my list. They seem to forget they even made a system once it's out of production. They do very little if any driver support for systems once they are out of production. While I know many people don't like DELL at least you can go to their supprot web site and get drivers for any OS the system migth support for any componets taht DELL originally supplied. I can pull up a support page for a 5+ year old system from DELL and download XP drivers. I have an HP laptop that had a video driver bug and even while it was new no driver update ever became available. I've tried to help a few others with similar issues on old HP systems desktops and aptops and found the same thing. Hardware custom modified for HP no supported by the componet manfacture and not supported by HP.

Now for their laser printers I can pull up may old workhorse printers and get current drivers.

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About the same...

by Willy Nov 13, 2005 10:33PM PST

I find support for HP quite easily though at times need to dig. I do know what to get besides what HP offers in dealing with direct componet details which helps alot. However, I don't find HP any harder to deal with than other systems. Yeah, some days are better than others but can be for any system out there. remember, some suystems its really a good idea to walk away from after usually 5yrs. in order to keep abreast of the latest offering out there. Staying with older systems can only get harder, but even then it can be done just harder. If you really want to complain about a system vendor look into Sony, wooo!.

tada -----Willy

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the biggest thing.

by xxTERRORxx Nov 10, 2005 6:08AM PST

the biggest thing with hp computers is the extra software installed on them. I sell hp, compaq, sony, gateway ( and emachines) and i know a little about the inner workings of the HP prebuilts.

First of all they come with alot extras you dont really need, software wise which is hard to wipe out of your system, also the support for HP's is really bad, hard to understand and even harder to get warranty service. If you do run into problems most computer repairmen(shops) will run away from you when you tell them its an hp.

To be honest with you, and this is going to catch alot of flack from everyone else, I would purchase the emachines athlon 64bit system, they are IMMENSELY easier to work on, they are now owned by gateway and they are more properly priced. If you must go for a prebuilt system, go with the emachines T6524:

brand name eMachines
manufacturer eMachines
model name T6524
processor type AMD Athlon 64 3500+
processor speed 2.2 GHz
frontside bus 2000 MHz
memory 1.0 GB
maximum memory upgrade 4 GB
memory speed PC3200
memory type DDR SDRAM
hard drive capacity 200 GB
video memory 128MB shared
video hardware ATI Radeon Xpress 200
audio hardware AC '97 6-channel audio
modem standard 56K V.92
Wi-Fi capability included (Wi-Fi ready) no
Ethernet port yes
infrared port no
included integrated drives DVD+R DL/DVD

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emachines

by dave_dixon49 Nov 10, 2005 7:51AM PST

I've actually looked into buying the emachines system that you've mentioned. The shop that sells the hp has a really good financing plan, so that's one reason I was thinking about it, whereas I don't know about the financing from the store that sells the emachine. That's one reason I'm leaning towards the hp.

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HP

by Alan Copeland Nov 12, 2005 9:52PM PST

Ask 10 people and you may well get 10 opinions. I decided years ago that I would never buy an HP PC, although I have several HP printers. In May I bought an HP 1020n, and within 2 weeks had also bought an HP scanner and my 2nd HP digital camera. I have had a few issues, all software related and due to the camera/scanner combo, but HP did a pretty good job of helping me straighten them out. There is a lot of basic and intro software, but I had the same thing with my last PC which was a pre-HP Compaq. I just uninstalled the stuff I didn't want. If you go HP, make the System Recovery DVD/CD set ASAP just in case.

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