HP Pavilion 864n Media Center Desktop PC (2.66-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This pc has just about everything you can ask for, plus. And coming as a package, everything works out of the box. No worrying about trying to find drivers or trying to kludge something up. Very fast DVD/CD writer and even faster CD ROM. I'm used to an older, slower box and this thing is so fast at recording CDs that it actually started to irritate me. I would just start to do something else and it would be finished. After a month I'm still discovering some of the software that came with it. This XP Multi Media os is great, it is a superset of XP Pro. Like XP it is super stable. Just for laughs I hooked the TV cable up and the multi media was a snap to get working. I now have a mini tv working on my screen. Only small problem for me is that I have a Tivo (the world's second greatest invention after TV) and I can't completely hook up the tv guide function because I don't want this pc fighting with Tivo over control of the cable box. I'm very satisfied and I think it is an excellent buy for the money.

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Product Description:
The HP Pavilion 864n Media Center Desktop PC is no ordinary personal computer. Certainly it's faster and more powerful than most ready-to-ship PCs, but it's also one of the most multimedia friendly desktops on the market. If you spend a good deal of your computing time playing rather than working, you've come to the right place.
The Pavilion 864n is an audiophile's dream. HP has supplanted the typically generic sound cards found in most competing rigs with a high-end Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 24-bit sound card with Dolby 5.1 and analog surround sound. Given that this card is capable of full five-point Dolby surround sound, HP's decision to supply only a stereo speaker system may seem a bit odd, yet the system it did include is one of the finest available today - a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX certified 200 watt 3-piece setup (two satellites, one very potent subwoofer) that delivers superb tone and most definitely rattles the floorboards.
Driving the Pavilion 864n is a speedy 2.66 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512 MB DDR SDRAM (expandable to 1 full gigabyte) and a potent 128 MB Nvidia GeForce4 MX440 graphics card with TV-out. In simple terms, this powerplant will efficiently handle virtually anything you can throw its way. Ditto with the hard disk, a monstrous 160 GB 4500 RPM Ultra DMA model that sports enough room for all your applications and a multitude of music and video files too. Alternately, you can use the integrated DVD+RW/CD-RW combo drive and fast 48-speed CD-ROM drive to listen to and burn audio CDs, create home movie DVDs, backup your data and enjoy the latest Hollywood movies.
The Pavilion 864n features a variety of high-end amenities designed to help you get the most from your computing and multimedia experience, including five ultra-fast USB 2.0 ports for plug and play peripherals, two IEEE 1394 ports for external devices such as digital camcorders and scanners, a 6-in-1 media card reader, and a Media Center Keyboard with full multimedia control. A monitor is not included, thus allowing users to select one separately.
More About Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

What sets this PC apart is that it is powered by Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, which offers the features, reliability, and power of Windows XP Professional, plus advanced digital entertainment capabilities. The Media Center interface offers you more types of entertainment to enjoy: TV, Personal Video Recording (PVR), Movies, Music, Photos, Videos, Radio, and DVD. Use the remote control to enjoy from anywhere in your room.
TV & MoviesWatch TV when and how you want, and never miss a moment of your favorite programs.Pause and rewind live TV. Record a TV episode, series, or category. Automaticallyrecord a personalized selection of TV programs using Keyword Record. Media Centerdownloads the latest program listings for you and even wakes up from power-savingstandby mode to record programs, so you can watch shows on your schedule.Photos & Video Easily edit your digital pictures and digital videos, and then launch a dynamic slideshow complete with animated transitions and your favorite soundtrack. While viewing a picture, zoom in to see more detail. You can rotate, correct red-eye, and print your pictures using the remote. Play slide-shows straight from digital storage devices. Music & RadioAll your music is stored in one digital jukebox and using the remote, shuffle your entire music collection according to artist or genre or listen to your tunes through playlists that learn what you like. Tune in FM stations and pause live radio. Full-screen visualizations pulse to the beat of the music. Cool on-screen effects show music information, such as track title, track time, and artist.

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