Time for a Change


The lure of the new is often an intense motivator. In the case of computers, with their constantly upgraded processors and their enticing sugarplums of DVD drives and CD burners, it is difficult to resist the relentless desire to have the latest and the best or in my case, shake off the antediluvian dust created by that old workhorse, an Acer 486DX, with its 1 gig scuzzi hard drive and 16 MB of RAM. All its original bits and pieces were still intact and functioning well but although it was the last word in performance way back in ‘92, the current crop of bloated software it was running was taking its toll.

Lusting for a new computer that would satisfy my cravings without putting too much strain on the old bank account should have been easy, given the faint rumblings of lessening demand that began to appear last summer. There were deals out there; I just had to find one. The opening of a new branch of a national electronics chain in my area turned out to be an occasion of much celebration by the local propellerheads and by me as well, once the ‘grand opening’ flyer fell into my hands.

The Specs

The front page displayed an ‘e-machine’ for a song but a quick trip to Epinions was sufficient to steer me away from those rocky shoals. The other computer ‘special’ was the HP Pavilion 8555C which came dressed to party with a enticing array of bells and whistles. The straightforward specs were good but not spectacular - 500Mhz Celeron running Windows 98SE, with an integrated video card that used up to 11 MB of the computer’s 64 MB of RAM. The hard drive was a reasonably commodious 17 gigs. There were Polk audio speakers and HP’s rather snazzy extended Internet keyboard, as well as a Rockwell 56K modem. There were two port connections behind a cover on the front of the tower which is thoughtful convenience, one of them USB and the other for a digital camera. There was in addition, 10/100 BaseT network card, a handy inclusion should you want to network your home setup or move to a DSL internet connection.

However, besides these rather pedestrian specs were the bells and whistles: a DVD drive and a CD Writer. The CD Writer was the one thing that cranked up my acquisition drive. The prospect of having limitless storage capabilities on the computer itself was irresistible. I already had a rather decent monitor and a good subwoofer to add to this little computer extravaganza, so after a final check on Epinions to see if there were any disaster tales on record for this model, I headed off to burn some plastic.

The Deal

One of the reasons this was such a rock-bottom price was the fact that it was a factory ‘refurbished’ unit with only a 90 day warranty. However, the electronics chain itself was happily flogging an extended 3 year, complete warranty coverage for a modest price. Ordinarily, I would not have considered such an option but the circumstances of its being a refurbished model lent more credence to having somewhere to drag it to should it prove to be too temperamental a few years down the road.

The set up was straightforward and I did all the usual of registering the computer online as soon as I had the internet connection set up which took but a moment. The bundled software included Quicken Basic and Microsoft Works (shudder) and Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator software for the burner. There was even Microsoft’s Encarta ‘99 which had noticeably improved over the ‘95 version that I had. There was also the usual several hundred MB’s of dreck that no brand name computer ever seems to be able make it out of the factory without, these days.

The Relationship

This HP Pavilion 8555C was purchased back in August 2000. I have repartitioned it (one of my motivations in buying it was to have the space to run the BeOS on it although I haven’t quite got round to that yet) burned CD’s, installed and uninstalled a host of programs on it. I even gave it a Christmas present - 64 MB of RAM to bring it up to 128 MB. It has been solid, reliable and a flawless performer. I find the speed more than satisfactory for the not too dizzying software demands I ask of it.

I cannot offer any observations about HP’s tech support because I have never needed any assistance. However, I have beavered around HP’s website to check for things like driver updates and the like and find it quite comprehensive. I had never used a HP before purchasing the Pavilion 8555C, my previous experience being with Acers, Dells and MacIntoshes so I had no preconceptions of HP products before buying it.

The 8555C may be on HP’s discontinued list with its 500 Mhz Celeron processor, which is probably one of the reasons I was able to snap it up for $591 US ($899 Canadian) while the extended warranty added an additional $85 US ($129 Canadian). I realize that its ‘onboard’ video card will limit its ability to be upgraded but since I am only the most modest of gamers (although it certainly handled “Shogun” without any problem) and do not do any intensive graphics work this was not a particular issue for me.

If this model is representative of HP’s home computers then they are dependable and sensible machines with a number of convenient embellishments - the keyboard itself with its customizable buttons for easy internet connections, a volume control knob and a mute button in addition to the other usual CD controls - as well as the computer’s standby button are nice touches, as are the ports on the front of the tower.

No End in Sight

Should you encounter one of these computers sitting in a clearance lot at your favourite computer store, give it some serious consideration. A consoling thought for anyone buying a factory reconditioned computer is that whatever glitches caused it to be returned in the first instance have probably been ironed out. If you are troubled by a ‘refurbished’ sign, ask about the store’s own additional warranty for peace of mind.

There is one minor caveat in all this glowing commentary: like many brand name computers today, the operating system (Win98SE) does not come on a separate CD. Instead it is contained in the HP Recovery CD. This can prove unexpectedly tricky, as I came to learn at my cost. For various reasons I wanted to reinstall some of the software that I previously deleted but inadvertently hit “REFORMAT” in error and had to watch in horror as the whole 17 gigs were wiped clean. Fortunately, this was in the early days of our relationship and there was not much data on the drive. Take that as a cautionary tale and proceed gingerly when the Recovery CD is in one of the drives.

The Hewlett Packard Pavilion 8555C would be ideal for family use or for someone who is ready to throw in the towel on that old 100Mhz Pentium donated by his brother-in-law.

Yes, I confess to having an affair with the Pavilion 8555C for the past six months. Furthermore, I am thinking of running off to Tahiti with it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 591
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Celeron
Processor speed: 401-500
RAM: 64
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20