HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7690n - Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz review: HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7690n - Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz

If you're anxious to step into the high-definition future, HP's Pavilion m7690n Media Center TV PC makes it relatively easy. HP's first HD desktop adds HD-DVD movie-watching to the long list of its home theater PC capabilities. For $1,649, this fixed-configuration, retail-only PC is more expensive than stand-alone HD-DVD or Blu-ray players, and its midtower desktop form factor is not exactly living room friendly. But it can also do a lot more than a plain old disc player, and there are few desktops or laptops below $2,500 that will play HD discs of either format. Between now and the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in early January, we expect to hear about lots of new desktops with one HD drive or another. It might be smart for you to wait and see what we learn. But if you're in the market for an HD-DVD-based PC now and you don't mind the midtower design, the Pavilion m7960n Media Center TV PC is the most reasonable game in town.

We're glad to see that HP has made this system powerful enough to play HD movies at resolutions up to 1080p. Its core configuration includes an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 processor, a 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT, and 2GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM. The added benefit of those specs is that the Pavilion m7690n is not only fine for watching high-def content, it's also a solid, all-around desktop. It's fully Windows Vista Premium-ready, and you can expect decent 3D gaming performance from it as well. We'd rather have seen HP release the more living room-oriented Digital Entertainment Center z560 with an HD-DVD drive--especially considering the two were announced on the same day--but if HP had to debut a high-def player in a desktop, at least it's a respectable system.

With Windows Media Center 2005 and a TV tuner, the Pavilion m7690n has the foundation for what most people expect from a home theater PC. It will record standard-def television, and it even has 500GB of hard drive space (via two 250GB drives) for keeping a decently sized video library. Windows Media Center doesn't support HD playback itself yet; instead, when you click the "HD-DVD" menu item, it kicks you out to a custom application called DVD Play. It's a seamless process, and DVD Play has a number of settings available to play with for maximizing image quality. We connected the Pavilion m7690n to Gateway's new 24-inch FPD2485W LCD and had outstanding HD-DVD playback at 1,920x1,200.

We were a bit disappointed to find that the GeForce 7600 GT graphics card in the m7960n has two DVI outputs but no HDMI out. HP probably made the right choice, since with this system's desktop form factor, it probably makes more sense to let people connect it to a 30-inch desktop LCD, such as the Apple Cinema HD Display, which would require two DVI ports (a.k.a. DualLink DVI). Still, because HD players remain expensive, it's conceivable that you might be willing to connect this PC directly to an HD-capable TV, which in some cases might require an HDMI connection. There's no such thing as an Nvidia card with both dual DVI and an HDMI out (yet), but fortunately, you can purchase a DVI-to-HDMI adapter to make the appropriate connection.

Like many HP Media Center PCs, the Pavilion m7690n comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard, as well as a Windows Media Center remote control. That means you have two different receivers hanging from your system, though, since the mouse and keyboard are RF and the remote control is IR. We wonder how hard it would be to combine the two in one receiver or to move all of the input devices onto one wireless standard.

The Pavilion m7690n actually has a third wireless technology built-in, by way of an 802.11b/g wireless networking card. It's usually the component-style PCs, such as HP's Digital Entertainment Centers, where we really like to see wireless networking, but even on a desktop system, it's not unreasonable to think that you might want to minimize its cables.

Compared to other Core 2 Duo-based PCs, the Pavilion m7690n fell right where it should, coming in just behind a Shuttle system with a faster chip and just ahead of a Systemax PC with a slower one. You probably wouldn't want to use this system for multimedia editing on a professional level, but it's fast enough to get you through any home project in a reasonable amount of time. If you have any intention to use it for PC gaming, its graphics card was powerful enough to turn in strong performance on our traditional 1,024x768 test. We also ran it through at a higher 1,280x1,024 resolution and 67.2 frames per second, which is more than fast enough for smooth play.

Although it's fine for current-gen games, don't mistake the Pavilion m7690n for a powerhouse gaming PC. Its puny 300-watt power supply limits its ability to accept an upgrade to a more powerful, power-hungry 3D card. You'll have to put off most other upgrading ideas as well, as you get only one free PCI slot, and the space behind it is crowded by the second hard drive. You don't get any free drive expansion bays, either, as they're occupied by a 9-in-1 media card reader and a second standard DVD burner (with HP's also standard LightScribe feature). Those are both great features, of course, and we'd much rather have them than the free space.

For software, HP includes its usual broad assortment of media and productivity apps, along with an unfortunate collection of promotional icons. Among the useful programs are HP's Photosmart for image editing, Rhapsody, Quicken 2006, and HP's extensive PC Help & Tools. You'll also find too many time-limited game demos and links to various software shopping Web sites. You can always delete those icons, of course, but they make the desktop and the Start menu look extremely cluttered.

HP's service and support for this system includes HP's standard year of parts-and-labor coverage, as well as 24/7 phone help via a toll-free number. You also get the benefit of HP's InstantCare support, which, with your permission, can let an HP tech take control of your system remotely for troubleshooting. HP's Web site also has a bounty of support resources, including online tech chat, as well as various FAQs, driver downloads, and other features.

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System configurations:

Apple Mac Mini Core Duo
OS X 10.4.7; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; integrated 64MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 graphics chip; 80GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive

HP Pavilion m7690n Media Center TV PC
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; Intel P965 Express chipset; 2,048MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT; (2) 250GB Seagate 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drives;

Shuttle XPC P2 3700g
Windows XP Media Center SP2; 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 664MHz; (2) 256MB ATI Radeon X1950; Western Digital 150GB 10,000prm Serial ATA hard drives

Systemax Venture C2D
Windows XP Home SP2; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6300; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 256MB ATI Radeon X1600; 320GB Western Digital 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive

ZT Group Reliant CI-V6001
Windows XP Professional SP2; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6300; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; integrated 128MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 graphics; 160GB Seagate 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive