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General discussion

HP m7070n vs Gateway 825m

Apr 4, 2005 4:41AM PDT

I am getting ready to purchase a new computer and wonder which is the better of the two computers. If anyone owns either one of these computers I would appreciate their thoughts.

Discussion is locked

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Hmmm..............
Apr 4, 2005 6:08AM PDT

The HP m7070n was just released by HP 8 days ago (March 2Cool. It seems to be a carbon copy of the HP m1297c (which has a 300GB Hard Drive instead of 250GB HD) which was released by HP on Feb 14, to counter the Gateway 825GM which apparently came out in January.

I'm thinking the prices may has some bearing.

Lots of talk about the Gateway 825GM:

http://cma.zdnet.com/texis/forums/search.html?q=825GM&qt=&p=&a=&b=&fi=&f=1&o=d&m=


The HP m7070n and HP m1297c both have the Pent 4 640 (P) HT 3.2GHz with the new 64-bit support (EM64T) with 2MB L2 cache.
The Gateway has the Pent 4 550 HT with a slightly larger 3.4GHz, and a smaller 1MB L2 cache. The 5xx series do not have the 64-bit support.

Perhaps someone has purchased the HP m7070n in the last few days and can comment.

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m7070n basic info
Apr 13, 2005 12:34PM PDT

The m7070n seems to be a great system.
Here are some basic specs from quick investigation.

250GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10. (16MB cache)
Hauppage PVR 150 MCE OEM (has rca jacks)
p4 640 3.2Ghz (Faster then the 550 3.4Ghz)
1 GB DDR2 Ram (DDR2 & Dual Channel)
HP 16X DVD+/- RW (lightscribe)
ASUS motherboard (OEM model)

This system is a nice upgrade from the 825gm due to p4 640 cpu and much better then the m7060n which doesnt have upgradable graphics (no agp or pcie slot).

The one thing that the 825gm has on the m7070n is that the 825gm is quieter although the m7070n has adjustable fan speeds based on cpu temp. Setting located in bios.

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HP m7060n
Apr 14, 2005 5:42AM PDT

I just purchased a 7060 (close to a 7070).

I would not recommend HP.

Just try to add XP compatible software - it's very difficult. It just does not like the introduction of foreign software (like Cakewalk Music Creator 2003) or Cakewalk Pyro. I called HP about this and their response has been consistently, "Well, we put all the software you'll ever need on these advanced Media Center systems." Oh, c'mon. Also, I hear (don't quote me) that Roxio products have a tough time to being added to HP computers.

Now I'm wondering if I should have purchased a Sony Media Center, or possibly, even a Mac.

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A long reply
Apr 15, 2005 8:48AM PDT

The 7070 is a great step up from the 7060.

I personally see no reason why you would have any issues installing any software on the computer.

The only two issues that I could imagine comming up would also hapen with any computer that runs on windows xp professional with service pack 2 as that is what windows media center 2005 is.

The media center part is really a program that runs on top of windows. The media center part is not the operating system.

The other possible issue would be a sound card (in this case chip) incompatibility issue with intel HD audio.

Most currently available manufactured (HP, SONY, Gsteway) use intel HD audio unless they offer an upgrade to something like a Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS sound card. BTW...You could easily add this or a similar sound card to your computer yourself.

(I tske no responsibility if you mess anything up while you add this card or making any other changes to your computer)

As far as the roxio programs again the issue would either be a windows service pack 2 issue or an issue with their driver catalog which will probably be updated soon if this issue exists. If there is a service pack 2 issue I would expect a fix comming from roxio.

I really doubt that anyone at HP would tell you "Well, we put all the software you'll ever need on these advanced Media Center systems." as this is definitely not true. Most of the software that HP put on my m7070n was either limited edition which would be needed to be upgraded to be useful or time limited as in the case of the office 2003 trial.

When it comes to software you have to be relistic as to what you should expect. The cost of this system barely covers the cost of parts alone at a place like newegg.

It is not HP's fault that your cakewalk or any other 3ed party software manufacturer's software does not work on their system and not their responsibility to make the software work. You should contact the 3rd party software manufacturer about the issue. If the third party software manufacturer sais that they dont support windows media center edition then tell them that you are using Windows xp service pack 2 because as I explained before that is what media center edition 2005 currently is.

I currently do not work for HP or any other computer related company.

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7070n feedback
Apr 20, 2005 5:02AM PDT

I would agree with nearly all of mids1999 'long' reply.

I bought a m7070n last week. While I am still learning about it, I would echo some early points:
-The 7070 is a great step up from the 7060.
Faster chip, larger hard drive, more memory, better video card
- The only ..issues that I could imagine coming up would also hapen with any computer ..on windows xp professional (SP2)...The media center part is really a program that runs on top of windows..not the operating system.
I agree


I am a little concerned with the upgrade options - I believe only one PCI slot is available. I tried to discuss the potential of upgrading the onboard sound, but my salesperson was not that knowledgeable on the product. We seem to agree that I may need to take the modem out & use this slot if I need additional room. In addition, I am not sure on the ability to add an additional internal HD; I think I may have to remove the 'personal media drive' option...

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One other note from HP Support
May 30, 2005 10:17AM PDT

I purchased the HP 7070N a month ago, and it's a fairly decent unit. Comparing it to other clone brands and Dells, it's the best price for the buck. Cons about it, however, would be:

a) cannot add an additional internal hard disk - no room to add it or mount it, less you remove the Personal Drive Bay, which leaves you with a large gaping hole infront of the unit

b) limited expansion slots

c) No OS CD (just the Recovery CD/DVD setup that you perform yourself - only way to tell that the full recovery CD works is by reloading the PC and crossing your fingers that your Recovery CDs actually got created without any read errors).

Improvemnets I would suggest should be in the next model would be:

a) original Microsoft genuine installation CD's

b) less "filler" apps and trial software (half of the installed software on the unit currently is Wild Tangent games, which Wild Tangent is originally written by the fellow who created DirectX).

c) removal of the Personal Drive unit - any can get a cheap hard disk, a cheap external housing, put them both together for half of the price (and double the capacity) of the offered HP Personal Drive currently on the market.

d) Windows XP 64 Bit Software option to purchase (not simply upgrade, as most would like both OSes to run in tandem, since upgrades of one OS over another OS never truly gets rid of all DLL's the past OS still has on the drive).

e) removal of the PCI modem (if you are purchasing a Media Center and still require dialup, you need to re-evaluate your true need for a Media Center - also with All In One printers being cheap as anything, no need for the modem card when faxing is on most all in ones).

So, in closing, the HP 7070 is nice, clean, easy to set up, has easy access to ports on the front/back for external devices, however a lof of what is included should be removed and allowing the user the option of full version software CD's to be included.

My two cents.

M

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Almost forgot... the 64 bit question
May 30, 2005 10:21AM PDT

This is the response I received today from HP Support in regards to placing Windows XP 64 bit on the HP 7070N:

"Next, your system is bundled with Intel Pentium 4 6xx HT processor. This
processor may not support Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. The
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition cannot be successfully installed on
x86 (32-bit) systems or 64-bit Intel Itaniumbased systems. 32-bit
device drivers are not supported on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.


The Computer with a supported processor are:

* AMD Athlon 64
* AMD Opteron
* Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support
* Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support.

NOTE: As the computer is unable to support Windows XP Professional
x64 Edition, it may not be possible to run both Windows XP Media Center
and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition parallely."

I'v emailed them back, stating why their presales state the machine has the Intel P4 640 processor with the EM64T extensions (which would support Windows XP 64 according to Microsoft also, even based on the processor model), while HP support is stating it will not support it. Based on how they reply, I'll be keeping this PC and getting Windows 64 installed and running in parallel with Media Center 2005, or demanding my money back since presales vs post sales support at HP can't come to an agreement.

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Forget Sony
May 1, 2005 4:20PM PDT

my brother has a vaio laptop that continually overheats...if you do a google search on Sony you will see that this is a documented problem for so many people..yet Sony chooses to ignore the issue...if they really valued their customers they would have issued a recall...so now that he is in the market for a new desktop...I say goodbye to Sony....fool me once shame on you...fool me twice shame on me...I would stay away from sony computers...they don't deserve the business...and I say ...vothe with my feet

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My take on the HP m7070n
May 23, 2005 4:12AM PDT

I wrote a detailed review on the product description page. To sum it up: good hardware except for the noisy hard drive. So-so gaming PC. Annoying software! There was so much junk software, I blew away everything and installed Windows XP Pro with "Beyond TV" software instead of Windows Media Center. I feel like maybe I should have stuck with a nice Dell with a TV tuner card instead. Right now I have the m7070n PC, a 160 GB Personal Media Drive, a vs17 flat panel monitor, and a PSC-1610 all-in-one printer/scanner. Anyone wanna make an offer? Three weeks old! No boxes but the price would be good!