HP Pavilion Desktop Buying Guide

HP’s Pavilion series desktops provide entry level performance for the average computer user. Appearance is in line with most of HP’s desktop line with a matte or gloss black smooth finish these computers keep it simple with business like styling. If you’re looking for gaming you might be better off looking at the Pavilion Elite series because it offers much better options for the PC Gamer.

That’s not to say that gaming isn’t possible on these machines, but the upper end graphics options on these models will only allow you to play newer games on minimal settings with washy performance, although games that are a couple years can be easily enjoyed. Starting at $300 the Pavilion series offers a good value for a minimalist computer. With five different models, 2 AMD and 3 Intel, the Pavilion series spans most everyday consumer’s computing needs pretty effectively.

Pavilion p6780t

As the flagship Pavilion model the p6780t offers an Intel i5 processor with a hearty helping of RAM and a good sized hard drive to boot. This should allow the average computer power user enough power to work with heavier applications like CAD and Photoshop seamlessly, as well as good multitasking performance.

Encode videos while surfing the internet or burn a CD while looking up directions to the airport with this modest Quad Core processor. The plentiful RAM that comes standard will allow you to leave all your windows open, never closing anything because it’s slowing down your computer.

The graphics on this model are not stellar, but definitely do-able for lower end gaming. If you’re looking at upgrading the graphics on this model though, you should seriously consider switching to the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-510t because of its expanded selection of graphics cards and overall better value.

Pavilion p6770t

Offering Intel’s latest economy dual core the p6770t gives you value performance. The Intel i3 also offers impressive power savings over earlier Intel dual cores by utilizing newer manufacturing techniques. Move seamlessly between researching to writing and store all the music you can get your hands on with the 750 GB hard drive.

This model also comes equipped with as much RAM as the average user could expect to need except in extreme circumstances and comes with plenty of hard drive space. Unless you’re taking a lot of HD videos or storing generations’ worth of photos you shouldn’t have to worry about running out of space.

Pavilion p6710t

HP’s base model Intel Desktop, the p6710t, offers a good value for someone looking for solid stability and just wants to surf the internet and write papers. The graphics options are pretty poor on this model so only expect to be playing games that are several years old, not that there’s anything wrong with old school.

The Celeron might disappoint when stressing out the computer with too many tasks, so go easy on it with things like photo editing and video editing. If you’re wanting to do a lot of multimedia the upgrade to the Intel i3 that comes with the p6770t is highly recommended, or at a very minimum spend the $20 to move up to the Dual Core Celeron. Upgraded graphics options will in most cases facilitate playback of HD video when it is the only thing running.

Pavilion p6750z

The AMD Athlon X2 series offers an very similar performance and component selection to the Celeron equipped Pavilion, although offers a quad core processor option and includes more RAM and hard drive space standard.

The fact that it costs $50 more than the Celeron isn’t a big deal when you consider the fact that to upgrade the Celeron to a 750GB hard drive costs $50. That means you get the extra 1GB of RAM effectively for free if you don’t mind AMD. At only $100 more than the Dual core Celeron you can move to a quad core Phenom X4 which makes the computer even cheaper than the i3 equipped Pavilion.

Truly a great value quad core when compared with the lower end i5 processors because in many benchmarks the Phenom comes out on top. Recommendations on graphics and hard drive space are similar to other models in the Pavilion Series which is disappointing because this could make a nice little budget gaming rig.

Pavilion p6700z

The p6700z is basically a stripped down version of the Athlon equipped Pavilion model. With lower RAM and hard drive this is a bare bones model if what you need is all out budget. I would recommend going for the $30 upgrade to a dual core processor because the performance gains are significant for the price.

The RAM would be advisable with today’s RAM hungry programs, but at that point you’re getting pretty close to the price of the next model up. Honestly 2GB will run alright as long as you’re not trying to run a lot of things at the same time. If you are planning on doing a lot of photography definitely don’t miss adding on the Media Card Reader. It only comes standard on the higher end models.

The Bottom Line

With the HP Pavilion series you can certainly build a budget PC for everyday use that doesn’t break the bank, but don’t expect to squeeze much gaming out of it unless you’re a diehard Warcraft III fan.