HP Home & Home Office Store
$579.99
Pros
More upgradable than recent slimline desktops; generous 8GB of RAM
Cons
Riddled with last-generation components; performance lags behind recent machines that cost less; case design could use a refresh
Editors' Take
The HP Pavilion p6130 is powerful enough for most general PC tasks, and there's a fair amount of upgrade potential inside. But its overall performance lags behind other systems we've seen recently that cost significantly less.
Key Specs
Processor: 2.4GHz AMD Phenom X4 9750
Memory: 8GB DDR2
Storage: 750GB hard drive
Optical Drive: DVD±RW
Monitor: None
Graphics: Integrated Nvidia GeForce 9100 graphics (256MB shared)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
Despite a generous 8GB of RAM, a roomy 750GB hard drive, and more upgrade potential than you'll find in any slimline PC, the HP Pavilion p6130 feels more like a tired retread of last year's model than the enticing back-to-school desktop it's aiming to be. Its case design offers nothing new, where competitors have continued to innovate. And its performance, while solid, lags a bit behind recent PC's we've seen that sell for as much as $100 less. At its current $599 price point, there's not really many compelling reasons to choose the p6130 over other budget offerings like the Gateway SX2800-01, unless you really like large PC towers and the upgrade options they bring.
The shiny black face of the p6130 looks nice enough, though it hasn't changed significantly with this refresh. And competitors like Acer and Gateway are offering systems with handy case options such as top-mounted USB ports integrated into device trays for connecting cell phones and media players, which makes this HP case feel forgettable. A pair of front-facing USB ports and audio jacks are hidden behind a drop-down panel on the front of the system. And a handy media card reader resides above the optical drive. But at this point, those features are standard even in budget systems like the eMachines ET1810-03. Similarly, there's nothing much interesting to say about the included keyboard and mouse; they're of the USB variety, and the keyboard has volume controls.
The top-mounted power button lights up with a pleasing white glow when the system is running, but ours was jammed when we took the PC out of the box. We had to snap off the front faceplate and fix it before we could boot up. That wasn't a serious problem for us, but if this is a common occurrence, HP should seriously consider redesigning the power switch to save novice users from having to send the system in for repair before they can even turn it on.
Around back the p6130 continues to offer standard, unsurprising options, including analog surround-sound audio jacks, digital audio, four more USB ports, a FireWire port, 100Mbps Ethernet jack (not the faster Gigabit variety that's become increasingly common), and PS/2 mouse and keyboard jacks. You'll also find VGA and DVI ports for video, but no HDMI port, which has also become quite common, as it simplifies connecting your PC to an HDTV.
Inside, there's more to like about the p6130, particularly thanks to a fair amount of slot expansion. A free PCI Express 16 slot means you can add a discreet graphics card—and if you plan on playing current 3D games, you'll have to, as the integrated graphics aren't really up to the task. There are also three PCI Express 1x slots for adding other components, though one is occupied by an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi card. Again, faster 802.11n cards are now quite common in systems at this price point. All four DIMM slots are occupied, though the 8GB of installed DDR2 RAM will likely be more than enough for most users through the life of this machine. Still, faster DDR3 RAM is becoming increasingly common in budget and midrange machines, but HP's choice of a last-generation AMD Phenom X4 CPU precludes that option. Two free SATA ports and a spare bay in the hard drive cage mean adding more internal storage is an option.
In terms of performance, all those last-generation components hurt the p6130, especially compared with the performance of systems that use more current hardware, like the slimline Gateway SX2800-01, which sells for $100 less than the HP. On our CPU-centric 64-bit Cinebench 10 test, the Pavilion system scored a respectable 9,068, but that wasn't enough to best the score of the Gateway SX2800-01, which managed 9,533 on the same test, thanks to its Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor. On both our iTunes conversion and Windows Media tests, the HP system continued to lag behind, taking 20 to 30 seconds longer to finish than the Gateway system. Though on the synthetic 64-bit PCMark Vantage test, which takes a more holistic measurement of system performance, the p6130f did manage a slight edge, scoring 5,272 to the Gateway system's 4,798. That's likely due mostly to the HP system's 8GB of RAM.
On our DirectX 9 Company of Heroes test, both systems performed poorly; the HP system managed 10.7 frames per second (fps) at a resolution of 1,280x1,024 , and the Gateway system mustered up 12.1fps. Turning off most of the available eye candy and lowering the resolution will help the HP's integrated Nvidia 9100 graphics fare a little better. But anyone who wants to play today's 3D games at more than the lowest possible resolutions will have to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card. The HP system wins there over the Gateway SX2800-01, as its full-size case is large enough for full-size graphics cards. The slimline tower that houses the Gateway system can handle only half-height cards, which are generally more expensive and aren't sold with the same powerful graphics processors as can be found on full-size cards.
There's nothing inherently bad about the HP Pavilion p6130, and its performance is fast enough for most general users. But much of its hardware and design is dated compared with other current desktops. And with more capable systems like the Gateway SX2800-01 selling for $100 less, it's hard to argue for the HP Pavilion p6130, even if we do love its internal upgrade options. HP sells some great desktops, to be sure, like the $879 HP Pavilion Slimline s5160f we recently reviewed. But if your PC budget is stuck at $599, you can do better.
Price (at time of review): $599.99 (Direct)
