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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 30 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 tradeoffs: value vs minor inconviences Aug 15, 2007
By Kimmy in Valencia
First, ordered this from Amazon and delivery was fast! It actually got here a week before the monitor (Samsung 226).
HP a6130n is a prebuilt desktop so you can't "customize" it. But for the value, you get alot of bang for your buck. Also, according to a friend who works for HP, the prebuilts don't have as many "issues" as those you customize. Since I've only had the machine up and running for less than a week and have not ever owned a "customized" HP, I do not know this first hand.
I see other users and pro reviewers have said the graphics is weak, but as a nongamer, the picture looks great.
Drawbacks: I wish hp would change 2 things.
1. it does not have a digital monitor output. Apparently that's pretty standard in new systems. According to an hp rep, this system has been available since June 2007 (despite what it says on the Amazon page).
2. lots of noise! It's very loud when I start it up or when I open up a program. I see another reviewer has praised how quiet this system is so I'm not sure whether I have a bummer one or not.
2.5 mouse-(minor, minor issue)- roller ball mouse, who knew they still made them?
Update: had to send it back. I talked to 4 different HP techs regarding the grinding noise. The last cs person I talked to was very knowledgable and nice. After running some diagnostics and actually listening to the noise over the phone, the guys at hp think this particular one I got has hard drive issues. But I have to say, the techs I chatted with online and phone were all incredibly nice.
20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 Just Awesome Aug 13, 2007
By kindasorta
How they can pack this much computing power into such a low price is beyond me (oh wait...free trade). Seriously, this thing is a monster. The dual core AMD processor is super fast and can handle a million things at once. You also have more than enough RAM for your needs, which is nice since Vista is such a memory hog. Vista uses about 1GB of RAM, so really you have 2GB of usuable RAM, which is still more than enough for the average user. Also, at 400GB of storage, you're not likely to run out of room any time soon.
As others have pointed out, the ONLY weakness with the system is the graphics card. If you are going to do any sort of gaming on this (or any serious photo work) you really must upgrade the graphics card, as the integrated one is just barely adequate. Its enough to run the Vista themes on a basic level, and you can obviously watch videos and such, but it really chugs on games and also if you're doing any serious photo editing. Also, it would have been nice if they would have thrown in a wireless network card (but alot of desktop PC's dont have them) so if you have a wireless network, add another 50 bucks or so for a decent (and Vista capable) wireless card. Other than that I really have no complaints about this computer. HP's are great, my last one lasted for years and they are easy to upgrade so I expect to have this around for a long time. What else...lightscribe DVD burner, memory card reader, USB ports up the yin-yang, expansion bays and audio inputs / outputs on the front of the computer...this just about has it all. And, its cool looking to boot.
OBTW...those of you complaining about lack of restore / installation discs...did you even open or read the owner's manual? On just about the first page it tells you how to burn your own recovery discs from the Recovery partition. So do NOT pay HP $29 for discs! Just follow the instructions in the manual and burn your restore discs onto 2 DVD's!
In sum, this is about the best bang for your buck right now. I actually switched back to Windows from using Macs the past couple years and this thing blows the Mac away in every aspect (except graphics.) Great machine, awesome price, and HP support actually speaks intelligible English and generally answer the phone within 2 minutes. As far as the computing world goes, HP is on top of all aspects of the game. Very happy with this purchase.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Great Value Computer Oct 28, 2007
By Michael R. Jameson
"mijam7"
After reading the reviews I feel I must comment. First, don't by this computer at Amazon. I bought this computer at BestBuy two months ago for $200 dollars less than it is listed here.
I bought this computer after reading the specs and KNOWING that the video card sucked. I fully intend to by a better video card for this computer as soon as the cash becomes available however, after going to Nvidia website and downloading the latest drivers and patches I've had very few problems with freezes and crashes.
I built my last computer and couldn build one this cheap for the price. Also, the hard drive is awesome. It is 400GB which holds a ton of videos, songs, and pictures. It has 3 GB of memory. It costs almost as much to buy 3 GB of memory as the whole system costs. It IS quiet! My roommate thought I was working on my computer while it was turned off the other day and wash shocked to realize that it just doesn't make any noise.
I would reccomend this computer to anyone who wants a great computer but doesn't play any directX 10 gams or for those who do play high powered games but know how to install their own peripherals (which is not all difficult for those who have more knowledge than how to operate a Mac.)
It is a great system for those who want a $1500 computer, but don't have $1500 dollars on them. Buy this system and add the card later.
21 of 26 found the following review helpful:
HP A6130n Desktop Computer. Jul 15, 2007
By King Pigeon
"Bird"
Amazon delivered the Computer in two days. I have it up and running loaded with all the programs I used. I like it and I am not having a bit of problems with Windows Vista Home Premium...I like the new features. No Floppy Drive in the computer. I have purchased an External Floppy Drive (CD-RW's can't replace the convenience of the 3.5" floppy).
I recomment HP Computers...You can go to Hp WebSite and download Maunals and also obtain CD's for Recovery items if the Recovery Drive (D) in the computer is not available.
15 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Good for the price Aug 03, 2007
By Michel Kuzmiak
First, for the money you spend on this thing, you can't expect a high end video card for new games. Nobody is going to toss in a $500 video card when the whole package goes for $600.
The integrated video actually does a decent job at older games such as Unreal Tournament 2004 and anything else that isn't too demanding.
My biggest complaint is the keyboard. It is cheap and quite unresponsive.
Some don't like the mouse, since it is mechanical. Personally, I hate optical mice and feel that a mechanical mouse that is kept clean or a trackball is a better choice.
Windows Vista is great. But expect a few headaches for compatibility when you get any kind of brand new operating system. Don't blame it on HP.
Update: 250watt PSU is somewhat limiting. BUT, it seems HP is no longer using proprietary PSU connections. Older HP systems had a bottleneck with proprietary connections, making power-hungry upgrades very difficult. In fact, I'm pretty sure I overstressed and eventually fried my last HP by overstressing the stock proprietary PSU.
This is no longer the case. Any standard power supply should work. So when the time comes to upgrade your graphics card, you may need to get a new PSU.
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