( 21 reviews )
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Posted: 01-10-2009
This review is for the 'non' computer type people who are still window shoping and really don't understand the 'hype' behind the product discription and the reviews below it. This entire review is basically pros and cons covering the first three days and nights. 'What you, a non computer person, is going to go through'. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE...make an emergency backup/startup disk. Do this BEFORE you install or update anything. PROS: 1. Yes, it will multitask (single core computers usually only do 'single' things at a time...this is a quad core--it can do 3 or 4 things at time time without slowing down) 2. Yes, it does seem to run a lot smoother when compaired to a single core--no freezing up, shuttering, studdering, crashing, etc.. 3. Yes, it has Vista (that isn't a big thing to me) 4. Yes, this is probably the best 'bang per buck' computer you'll find--that's why I got it and that's why I gave it five stars. 5. All in all, when compared with my Hp Media Center (single core) with one gigabyte of ram...........this quad core is twice the computer. My single core always shuttered, single frame, freeze up and occasionally crashed back to desktop. (Crashed back to desktop means the program I was running--stopped running). CONS: 1. For the price, there really isn't much in the way of CONS. 2. I'd like to know, 'what lame brain' designed a black keyboard with white letters and numbers? You know, after a life time of going to school, reading books, and writing some of those books--I can honestly say...I can read and write pretty easy simple because I always used white paper to write and read on, and black pencil and ink to write with or read.............THEN, some idiot comes out with a keyboard that's black with white letters and numbers--instead of a white keyboard with black letters and numbers. Do they actually think this is better? It's hard to see and read like that. 3. What lame brain designed that keyboard with 'low profile' keys? I'm a touch typiest and half the time I use this keyboard I can't tell if my thumbs are on the spacebar or on the keyboard casing below. NOW FOR VISTA 1. When you get this computer do only this--download, download,download, and .... more down loads. DON'T install anything until you have. That will take you about three days and nights. 2. There are a number of programs on this computer Vista doesn't reconize...you have to get downloads off the internet to get them to run properly. (If you don't have internet...don't ask me what you should do). I would think a program would not have been factory installed on a computer--unless it would run on that computer without any updates...or...wouldn't be installed on a computer that doesn't reconize it. 3. When I plugged my computer in, and the monitor displayed something asking me about 'set up', I clicked the button. The harddrive flashed it's yellow light for a minute and then stopped. I set there for half an hour--staring at the monitor--waiting for the computer to do something...anything...or tell me to do something...ANYTHING. Did it? Nope. I moved the cursor around the screen until I noticed an area at the top left 'seemed' to lighten its color some. I clicked on it and was taken to the normal desktop display on the monitor. This is something all you newbies need to remember--Vista does not 'always' tell you what to do, futher, a lot of the 'control' areas on the monitor (the places where you click on) are faded and hard to see. 4. Vista seems packed with pastel colors. (pastel colors are basically faded colors...most of them are several colors mixed together to make a third color.) Example: You remember that 'box of 8' crayons you had in school...you won't be seeing those colors on Vista. You remember that 'box of 48' crayons?...that's what you will see. --this is another way of saying, the image is not sharp...it looks faded. For us people in low light levels--wearing glasses--this is hard to see. Even the written words appear faded and hard to read. 5. There is a lot of 'little' things I could list about these faded colors...but you get the idea--it's hard to see and read sometimes. six. Another problem is the basic design of this program. Example: you remember on your last computer, when you defragged your system, you could actually 'see' it defraging the computer? It probably told you how much had been defragged, how much was left, maybe a visual repersentation of it actually doing the defragging? Well.....you can forget that. Now, you click 'defrag' and.........that's it! You don't know if its doing its job or not. It doesn't take you to another page to watch it working, it doesn't tell you how much has been done...nope. You are left there, staring at the screen, wondering--is this thing still running? Is it frozen? Is it about to blow up? Should I pray to GOD? The only indication I got was a little 'swirling' blue circle around the cursor. This suppose to tell me the program is running. THATS IT! That little blue swirl is you only proof some of the programs are still running. So, get use to it. 7. The blue screen of death. Yep, it's still with us. My second day of running this computer I saw it three times in twenty four hours. I had installed only one program. Yesterday I think I found out what was causing it. The soft modem needed an update. The reason for the update listed "...stops intermittent crashes and the blue screen..." Now, twenty four hours later, I haven't seen that blue screen of death yet. Maybe it's gone away? 8. Finally, you remember on all your older computers, you would have to sign up for internet using one program, set your dial up on another program, attach your modem with still another program (and update its drivers)? Well, that kind of problem is on Vista to. I know why they do it...I just wish they would do something to change it. It would have helped if they would give us a 'command key card' or some other 'basic' instruction sheet (not a manual type book) on how to find these things for the first week of operation. A lot of the problems caused in these computers is from us clicking on the wrong program or button to do something during the first week. All in all, I like this computer, and I will adapt to Vista--I did give them five stars. If you are using a single core computer--this quad core is the best 'next' basic upgrade for all computers...but like all new computer systems you've owned--it brings its own problems you will overcome in about one week. Everforward. bye!
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Posted: 12-01-2008
I purchased this HP desktop for my son to replace his 3yo home-built that bit the dust. The m8400f's 2.2GHz quad-core AMD Phenom CPU is the bomb. A pair of Seagate 360GB SATA's provide scads of storage space. 3GB of RAM is nice, and the nVidia GeForce 8500 GT graphics are great. Vista already had SP1 applied, but the normal hokey pokey of Windows updates (on top of updates on top of updates on top of ...) will still be necessary before you get a clean bill of health. Block out another hour or so to remove all the craplets and trial offers. I can't stress strongly enough to take advantage of the prompt to create recovery DVDs. If you ever have a hard disk problem, this will be your only means of recovery. In reference to a previous review, note that my m8400f *included* a DVI-VGA adapter in the box. The integrated VGA port is disabled due to the addition of the nVidia GeForce 8500 GT adapter (HDMI, DVI, and S-Video outputs, but no VGA port.) All-in-all, I would positively recommend HP's Pavilion m8400f!
