Desktop Computers

Hardware Problems

During the two weeks I used this computer I had the blue screen of death five times and one total freeze-up on my screensaver. The computer diagnosed its problem as being either a problem with RAM, System Board, CPU, or Power Supply. I had trouble installing my Adobe programs onto the computer. Windows 7 comes with no email program, and the email download program is different enough from the old Windows Mail that it is awkward to use. I was unable to use a rapid transfer cable to move my files from my Vista computer to this computer. I suspect the glitch in my computer is a rare problem, but it has indeed been frustrating.

Excellent Machine For the Price

Really a wonderful PC...especially for the price. I primarily write and research with mine...use image editing and content management apps as well...lots and lots of programs and extras (many browser tabs within multiple browsers)...running at once. All of that quickly choked my dual-core HP with 4 gigs of memory...this new quad-core Gateway with 8 gigs doesn't break a sweat with that and more. Very good ATI graphics card (with HDMI) included--and it's NOT on the motherboard...it's the real deal. The sound components suck (speakers are predictably tiny and horrible, with no sub)...but you get what you pay for. I wanted to replace a box...and use my old peripherals including sound, Apple keyboard, wireless mouse, etc., so all that's not a problem for me. this Gateway is NOT a good choice if you're looking for a SYSTEM...but if you're just replacing the box as I did, it's almost perfect...you can't even build it yourself for this price. Even looks good and the top-case tray with USB ports  more

fantastic computer

Even though it has vista, my upgrade to 7 is on it's way. Don't know why others complain of this unit crashing, no such trouble here. I am a heavy user. There is no visible hard drive sync light in the front. Noticed by accident that it is located in back.So if you like to keep an eye on hard drive activity, you have to set this up on your desktop. Other than that I am very happy.

Acer Revo as Home Theatre PC

The Good-
The NVIDIA Ion LE graphics card is great. I use the Revo to watch .avi file and .mkv files. Note: these files dont play strait out of the box you need to use coreavc codecs and windows media classic home theatre (free download just google it)

There are 6 usb ports for easy access

Hdmi and VGA outputs - I use HDMI with my sony bravia t.v.

It comes with a keyboard and mouse... both work great but you may want to upgrade them eventually.

esata port works great if you have an external hard drive that supports it.

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The Cons

LOTS of crapware out of the box really slows down the computer so be sure to uninstall it.

No Wireless card in it but you can buy a usb one for a reasonable price.

You cant upgrade any of the hardware without voiding your warranty - this includes the hard drive and ram!

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other  more

Great PC

Purchased this machine to replace an Acer that had a motherboard die after 15 months! Very easy set-up. Great for family use - internet surfing, game playing and uploading pictures to share.

Great buy

I bought this machine for video editing and it has performed well. It's also a great gaming rig. If you're looking to get into an i7, this is a good buy. Comes with 9gigs of RAM, upgradeable to 24? That's just sick.

Satified purchase

I am not a big review writter, but this was a big purchase for me. I wanted the best computer for a good price. I shopped for a year comparing everything. I wanted a Mac to begin with but, decieded to go with windows for my family and thier ease. I am happy with the computer in general. I am not blown away by the preformance. Don't get me wrong, its 10x's better then what I had, I just expected more. My experience with Windows 7 is the same as all previos experiences: not always reliable. Window Explorer seems to get stuck and not open all the time. I had high expectations with this purchase and so far it's a great computer.... time will tell if this thing was worth getting the bigger HP. I would recommend this to a friend.

Basic Computer

This is an excellent machine for someone who wants to use for a small business (documents, internet, etc.). However if you are a home user you wants to use it for multimedia, games, etc. you will quickly find that upgrades are needed and costly since everything is part of the motherboard. If I made a purchase again, I would spend $200 more and get a customized Dell that is far superior to this basic unit.

Screamin Good Deal

Look at the specs. This is a great deal for the price and amount of system your getting. I burnt up the CPU and Mother board on my old system and had the old type of video socket. Was gonna be over 500 just to rebuild and them I'd still have an old power suply and drives. This machine has SATA so my old drive went in as a slave. The new system is blazing fast and all my software runs better with 2 more gigs of RAM.

I am a very happy customer.

Thank you BestBuy.com

This was a good buy

Right out of the box I had ! seemingly major issue. I had to Shift+F8, or something, eventually Entered VGA mode, to get the desktop image to show on my hdtv. Acer Customer Service was helpful, but did not think of the solution for me. I shut it down by the button, started it and pressed the key(s) they said, but I knew VGA was the port I had my monitor in, so I was lucky. Whew! Fixed!

Great

Had to send first one back because the CD/DVD did not reject disc's.
I brought it to a store and they sent it back. By the time I got back to my house 10 minutes away, Best Buy had credited my account with the return purchase amount. I ordered another computer and it came and everything, so far 3 weeks ago is working great. Best thing I found was Best Buy's Customer Service - Excellent.

HP Pavilion Elite e9290f: Return it ASAP!

My machine continually kept generating an interrupt that was not handled within the prescribed time interval. The result: a Blue Screen of Death. My machine was crashing 6 times each day. HP Technical support finally identified a problem with my machine that extended to all Elite Pavillions: a faulty motherboard. HP's Solution? Upgrade the extended warranty, and we will fix the problem in your home--in about a week. No Thanks. Best Buy was great to deal with. Took the machine back, no questions asked. Subsequently, a friend sent me the following article:

"November 16, 2009 (Computerworld) A Colorado man has sued Hewlett-Packard, saying that its Pavilion Elite desktop computers are "inherently defective," and constantly lock up within 10-20 minutes of use.

The lawsuit, which was filed with a California federal court last Thursday, seeks class-action status that, if granted, would open the case to all HP customers who have purchased one of the allegedly defective PCs."

Super Fast.

Have had this HP e9290f unit for almost a month now. I had to move into a replacement inasmuch as my last harddrive crashed. I am very thankful that Intels i7 became available when it did and also Windows 7. So now I have to learn how to use all these features. I have been working with HP in regards to a mouse cursor going in circles processing for up to 3 or 4 minutes. I am very impressed with all the diagnostic tools built into this unit. So far HP could not isolate the problem, but they are still working on it. I have to record when this delay occurs and we'll go from there. Out side of that it is a very good unit! Nothing like having a 1 TB storage capacity and 9 gig of memory....

Fantastic Computer!

Lightning fast, Blu-Ray is a great feature, and I am surprisingly happy with Windows 7, no problems!
I have tons of files and pictures and with a hard drive of 1 TB- NO PROBLEM!

So much more than a computer

The HP TouchSmart 300-1020 is like having a computer, gaming system, and HD tv in one package. It is also great to watch live tv (with $79 tv tuner) on it while my wife watches the main tv.

The built-in speaker system also sounds great with movies (either from Hulu or Netflix), and I really would compare the sound and picture to a true 720p LCD television, but never another computer.

Best Buy charges $30 or so to create system recovery discs, but there is no need with the TouchSmart. It does it for you - all you need to do is feed it three DVDs.

All-in-all, one of the best purchases I've made, and I am so glad I let my wife talk me into the TouchSmart instead of buying another laptop that will be antiquated in two months.

Best of Today's Technology in One Package

This system is amazing. The design is great. Truly today's technology rolled into one. You don't need anything but a powercord but if you hook up to cable, hdmi, 3 usbs etc. it is all nicely placed in the back of the system with some extra usbs on the side with camera card slots. The large multi-touch screen is today's technology. Windows 7 included. Blue-ray. Can't believe the price tag at Best Buy. They were the only retailer including manufacturer sites that I could find that could send a comparilble system to an APO Box--a huge plus with fast delivery. I was really surprised. The Virtual Earth Beta is awesome especially with the touchscreen. Will likely use this weekly. We found all sorts of places faster than with Google Earth with 100% accuracy. Street names, popular structures in 3D. I found there are plenty of fun games to download for a touchscreen.
My final decision to go with the Sony over any other mainly came down to the processor and design. The front of the sony also  more

Not worthwhile.

Thought this machine had it all. Everything I wanted in a computer. Was I wrong. First off, the thing came DOA. The power light came on, but that was it. Oh- and the fan worked. I spent four hours on gateway customer service chat, (they have no phone support) with them emailing me how to take the computer apart to check for loose wires and such. I refused, as I am not a liscenced computer repair man. They agreed it was dead on arrival, and told me to ship it back to be refurbished. I told them I didn't want a refurbished machine, because I bought a new one. They said I had to ship it back anyways, and if they decided the damage was from shipping back to them from my house, or anything else that the warranty didn't cover, I would have to pay repairs on the machine before they sent it back. This was all over the period of four hours, and I had to wait approx. ten minutes for a response for everything I typed to them. Would not like to deal with gateway customer support ever again. I told  more

MUST HAVE

Well I got this wonderful desktop a month ago and it was the answers to my prayers! I had an old dell desktop that ran so slow and kept on breaking. It seemed like a useless computer that ate up all my money getting it fixed over and over again. But then I heard about this Touch Smart computer. It's sleek ans very modern. Its is remarkable and the best decision i have ever made in my life!

Great Disappointment

This computer had great specs so I purchased it with high hopes, but was tremendously disappointed as I started using if over the course of a few weeks. I got blue screends constantly for no reason, the computer kept crashing... I did some research on the cause, and it seems like the HP pavillion elite series all use a certain type of motherboard that is defective. I returned mine today and I will never purchase from HP again.

Needs Patience

I bought it primarily to help with photo and video editing. It is very fast as I hoped. It crashed at least once every day for the first few days. Once I upgraded all the drivers (used DriverMax), the blue screen occurence is rare but the computer does lockup occasionally. The blue screen message was related to not getting a response from a secondary processor.

Since Windows 7 reboots are quick, I have been patient with it and it is paying off. I am excited (!) that it has not crashed in three days. Hopefully, this will continue.

I was waiting for other reviews to show up before I consider returning this computer but leaning towards keeping it hoping that HP or Intel will come with updates soon.