The HP Pavilion 7950 Is A Power House That Is Family Friendly
Written: Aug 24 '01
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Pros: 1.2 GHz; 128 MB Mem; 60 GB Hard Drive; CD Writer; DVD, + lots more
Cons: Just over $1000 for the PC; ISP software may need upgrading to work
The Bottom Line: This HP Packs Power with a 1.2 GHz AMD Athlon Processor % a 60.0 GB Hard Drive, yet is still within a reasonable price range, not a "dream only" range
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| JDinPA's Full Review: Hewlett Packard HP Pavilion 7950 (P5158A#ABA) PC D... |
I purchased my HP Pavilion 7950 soon after it had come out on the market. I had been going back and forth for over a month considering two other desktops (one a Sony and the other a HP) when the 7950 appeared in the line-up. I was upgrading my current system, changing over the desktop first, as my previous model at 3-years old was really becoming too out-dated to handle everything I wanted it too.
Since I was already considering a HP as one of the two choices I had narrowed it down to, it was quite easy to check out this new model that was a recent arrival in Circuit City. The HP 7950 was pretty much right in the middle between the sticker price of the other two, and as it turned out it met my needs much better than the other two models. The HP Pavilion 7950 was a wonderful choice and is fully up-to-date technologically ~ of course, in the computer world, wait a couple months and everything changes! lol
The HP Pavilion 7950 comes with Microsoft Windows ME Millennium Edition. Since I use Netscape Communicator as my default browser I was able to keep what I like and am used to without much ado. I choose to use Netscape and not MS and Outlook Express, and this is achieved with just a click of a couple buttons.
For those who DO want to keep the Windows ME & MS there is a very thorough manual that comes with theHP 7950 that will get you up and running in no time at all. If you want more information on Windows ME you can go to www.microsoft.com or do a search here on epinions for Microsoft Windows ME Edtion as I am reviewing this topic here under the HP Pavilion 7950.
One immediate difference I enjoyed with the 7950 was during the initial set up. This model has the network interface card already installed and ready for your DSL line or other such cable to be plugged in. On my previous computer I had to open the cabinet and manually install the ethernet card ~ this one is ready to roll. In addition to this wide slot (for your DSL phone line or computer to computer line cable) there is also a regular phone line slot.
Another nice difference for me was that you can access 1 Serial port, 2 USB ports and 1 IEEE 1394 ports on the front of the PC. These ports are hidden behind a lift up door right on the front of the PC's face ~ What this means is that you can plug in your digital camera, video or game devices without having to reach behind the PC, pull the PC out and turn it around, or try to wedge your hand in behind everything to find the right port. You just flip open the cover and you have immediate access. This is a definite plus for me!
The ports on the front are not the only ports this machine has. The total number of external ports include 4 USB ports, 2 Serial ports, 1 parallel port, 1 game port, 2 PS/2 and 3 IEEE 1394 ports. The HP Pavilion 7950 has the power and capacity to handle whatever you throw at it ~ and you can go wild plugging devices into this PC! As far as the other connection slots and bays available, you also get 2 Internal Drive Bays 3.5", 1 External Drive Bay 3.5", as well as 2 other External Drive Bays 5.25", 1 DIMM available memory slot, and 1 PCI available slot. There is also a built in Fire-Wall which most other models do not have. As you can see you have a lot of room to expand your entire system with this HP.
Since I have a DSL internet connection I can expect quick log-on's and movement between sites. However, when I changed from my previous PC to this HP I could really see and appreciate the difference. I get super quick loading, although on Epinions you never know if the site can keep up with what you want it to do!! lol
If you want the specifications on the "speed" here, the Pavilion 7950 has a microprocessor that is an AMD Athlon processor with 1.2GHz and 3DNow technology behind it. Memory speed is at 133MHz, primary cache at 128Kb and secondary level cache is 256Kb (which is full speed). I suggest you actually go try out one at your computer store to really appreciate the speed I'm talking about ~ you can easily compare what you are currently used to with the speed and ease that this HP runs with.
If you are interested in using your computer for video graphics you will find alot to work with here. You get nVidio TNT2 M64 3D AGP Graphics Card with 32MB of SDRAM ~ That is a nice degree of video memory that comes standard on this Pavilion 7950. You also get MPEG2 for full-motion digital video ability. What all these numbers come down to is that you can take your video & CD games to their full potential with fantastic graphics and crisp clear rendition. You can run, develop, create your own video's too! The 3DNow technology allows you to see and experience the digital advantage being created with today's technology.
There is still more that this HP Pavilion 7950 has to offer! This model comes with a CD-Writer Plus that can burn your CD's at 8x4x32x maximum speed. Now, some of the larger and even bigger PC's have a CD-Writer that can burn at 12X speed, but burning a CD at 8X speed actually may take a couple minutes longer, but will produce a clearer and sharper recording. So while it may sound impressive to be able to burn a CD zippity doodah, you will actually get the better recording at a slightly lower speed ~ and does a couple minutes really make that much difference in the long run? Not for this function it doesn't! Now to take a moment to explain the numbers 8x4x32x ~~ The computer writes (or burns you a CD) at 8x speed, it will re-write at 4x speed, and it will read the CD at 32x speed.
All this not enough for you?? Well, this model comes with 60 GB Hard Drive. Yes, 60 GB!!! You have nothing but plenty of wide open spaces to try (and try is a good word here!) and fill ~ Good luck! You have enough space for all sorts of photography, music, graphics, multimedia, movies, videos, and anything else you can think of! You will have some work to do to try and use up 60 GB!!! Feel free to play around with and save all those large files ~ 60 GB's goes a very very long way! Enjoy this freedom to not have to worry about if you have room for all the files - just save and save away~ :o)
The keyboard with this model is a basic oblong keyboard, but it is light to the touch which I like. I notice that I have to put very little pressure on the keys to get a response. At the top of the keyboard are control keys for the CD/DVD/MP3, Printer, digital camera, help, and direct link connections to shopping, sports, search and the like. These control keys function like "hot keys" where you press and you are immediately taken to the corresponding site or control panel.
The mouse is a slimmed down oval 2 button mouse with a scrolling dial between the right and left clicker. It works. It's functional. It works fine for me.
The speakers that came with the PC are Polk Audio. They are powered by the HP itself and will not work on another computer that does not supply the speaker power.
There is a small CD storage unit on the top of the HP where the manual recommends you keep all the discs that pertain to this unit programming and set-up. A handy little spot for those oh so important system discs.
The HP Pavilion 7950 comes with a 1 year warranty and 24-hour, 7-day a week phone support. You can purchase a warranty extension for 3 additional years for $99 ~ details are on their website.
HP has a great website at www.hp.com where you can see all of their products, print out information, find out about rebate specials, buy on line, e-mail for assist, and see where they are going in the future. The website is very easy to navigate and offers a wealth of information for anyone wanting to find out more data on their model or on a model they are considering.
The HP Pavilion 7950 comes with quite a bit of software. What you get includes Microsoft Windows Millenium Edition, InterVideo WinDVD 2000 (DVD software), Pinnacle System Studio (for digital video editing), a 1-year trial subscription to Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2001 Online, Adaptec DirectCD EasyCD Creator (for CD-writing/burning), MusicMatch Jukebox 6.0 that includes 100 free songs from 3-music, Trellix Web (for creating your own website ~ pretty cool too!), all the usual internet providers (i.e., AOL, AT&T, Excite, CompuServe, Earthlink, etc), ArcSoft My Photo Center (a fairly complete photo studio), Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0, Microsoft Works 6.0, Quicklink (fax), and Microsoft Money 2000. I'd say, that's quite a bit~
I will say I am enjoying this computer and would recommend it to anyone out there "looking" and "browsing" the computer aisles. There is just so much to cover on this model ~ this is one great machine. Since this model is fairly new on the market you may not have seen one yet, so do ask about it, or check it out on the HP website. You just may decide to upgrade your PC and become a HP Pavilion 7950 fan!
Thanks for reading! Judy
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $1,049
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
Processor: AMD Athlon (K7)
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 128
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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JDinPA
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Member: ~*~ Judy ~*~
Location: The Endless Mountains
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