HP Compaq d530 Business Desktop Computer; Solid Performer—So Far
Written: Dec 05 '03 (Updated Dec 16 '03)
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Pros: Front USB ports, great performance
Cons: Expensive...
The Bottom Line: The HP Compaq d520 Business Desktop is powerful business class work station that is more then adequate for our needs. It is a little pricy.
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| vemartin's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Compaq Business d530 (DK665A#ABA) ... |
It’s that time of the decade again; time to change out our entire base of older model (MicronPc) computers with brand new ones, complete with Microsoft Windows XP Professional. I wanted to stick with MicronPC, now called MPC, but in the end I was outvoted and we went with Hewlett Packard, more specifically the HP Compaq d530 Business Desktop.
As a base unit the HP Compaq d530 Business Desktop / Mini-tower with Pentium 4 Hyper threading technology is relatively expensive (when compared to similar offering by MPC, Gateway etc.) checking in at some $994.00, sans monitor. But we modified the build and ended up with a workstation with a 3.0 GHz Pentium Processor, w/ 800 MHz FSB; 80GB hard drive (HHD); 1.0GB Ram; Combo DVD-ROM/RW drive; NVIDIA GeForce4 MX440/8 (64MB, 8XAGP, DVI, S-video); CD-ROM drive; 250MB 3.5” Zip Drive; 3.5” floppy drive; 2 front USB ports; 4 rear USB ports; front audio & microphone jacks and Windows XP Professional.
First Impressions:
Not to bad, not to bad at all. It works and works well; even surprise, surprise the Roxio East CD Creator 5, which ships with the unit. Windows XP Professional came pre-installed and it took mere minutes to complete the installation/setup process.
Since this is a business desktop, there is no opportunity to test gaming or other related software on the computer. I can report however, that business apps; i.e. Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Outlook, etc all load and run extremely fast, while Internet Explorer’s performance does not seem at all changed from previous desktops that I have used.
The built-in network card works as advertised, but I would have preferred a standalone card which could be swapped out, or a card that could be upgrade, via firmware, to gigabit Ethernet. The card can be disabled via the BIOS.
The built-in sound card works remarkable well and produces sound comparable to many high end offerings. Space on the front panel containing headphone and microphone jacks is a welcome convenience, an innovation it has taken PC manufactures over a decade to incorporate into their designs.
The video card is a stand alone NVIDIA GeForce4 MX440/8 (64MB, 8XAGP, DVI, S-video), but for the life of me I do not understand why we needed the card. For a business class desktop, it makes no sense however, mated with the DVD-ROM, the possibility of watching DVD movies at my desk on a 32” television, if I so desire is something I may explore. The performance of the card is outstanding especially when mated with a 19” flat panel display. Colors are sharp, crisp, and brightly rendered. By-the-way, the integrated video card is still included.
The 250Mb Zip drive is a waste of money in my estimation. I currently have one installed on my old workstation, which I still use, and I have once to use the disk for any thing. There was a time when a Zip drive was almost indispensable for the sharing and portability of large files, but memory sticks & Jump Drives which store twice as much data at half the cost, and CD-R’s make Zip Drives and discs obsolete for anything but rudimentary file backup & archiving. As a matter of fact as I write this review I am saving it to a 128MB Jump Drive plugged into an open USB port on my work station.
The six USB version 2.0 ports (four in the back, two in the front) are a welcome addition especially the two in the front, though I would like to have seen the number reversed; i.e. two in the back and four in the front. Increasing, the devices that utilize USB ports are portable in nature and having to continually move the Tower in order to access them can become a pain.
Conclusions:
The HP Compaq d530 Business Desktop (tell me again why Compaq and HP merged!?) is powerful business class work station that is more then adequate for our needs. For the base price of $994.00 it is a little pricy, but the name must be paid for.
Specifications:
• Operating systems included: Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP3 or Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional SP1
• Processor / CPU min: 2.2 GHz Intel® Celeron® / max: 3.2 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 with HyperThread
• Cache description:128-KB or 512-KB Integrated ECC L2 Cache
• Memory description: min: 256 MB max: 4 GB DDR SDRAM
• Memory slots: 4
• Hard drive, internal: min: 40 GB (7200 rpm) max: 160 GB (7200 rpm)
• Hard disk controller: 40 to 160 GB 7200 rpm SMART III integrated Ultra ATA
• Optical drive (CD ROM / DVD): 48X CD-ROM Drive Optional solutions: 48X/24X/48X CD-RW Drive; 16X/40X DVD-ROM with R Read; 48X/24X/48X/16X Combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM Drive; 4X 4.7GB DVD R/RW Drive
• Drive bays: 2-3.5" internal; 3-5.25" and 1-3.5" external; optional multibay
• Internal audio: Integrated AC97 audio with Internal Speaker
• I/O (input/output) ports: 6 USB, 1 standard serial, 1 optional serial, 1 parallel
• Graphics card(s) available: Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 DVI; full height NVIDIA GeForce4 MX440/8 (64MB, 8XAGP, DVI, S-video); NVIDIA Quadro4 100NVS AGP (64MB, dual VGA) full height.
• Network / LAN characteristics: Integrated Broadcom NetXtreme 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet for HP
• Modem: Optional: Lucent V.90 56K Win Fax/Modem
• System dimensions, without keyboard (w x d x h): 6.6 x 17.8 x 17.65 in
• Weight: Approximately 32.5 lbs
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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vemartin
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Member: Vincent
Location: Aurora, IL
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