HP Pavilion Media Center TV M7780N Desktop PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400, 2 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, H/D DVD Drive, Vista Premium) | List Price: $2,022.00
Discount Price: $2,099.00
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Brand: Hewlett-Packard
Binding: Personal Computers
Release Date: 2007-01-30
Features: - Powerful multimedia desktop with TV tuner (NTSC/ATSC), personal video recording functionality, and programming guide
- 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 dual-core processor, dual 250 GB hard drives, 2 GB installed RAM (4 GB max), HD DVD player, multi-format/dual-layer LightScribe DVD drive
- Connectivity: 6 USB, 2 FireWire, 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, 1 composite A/V digital audio output, surround sound speaker output, 15-in-1 memory card reader
- 54g Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g), 10/100 Ethernet, Nvidia GeForce 7600 video card with 256 MB dedicated video memory
- Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (with Media Center capabilities)
Knowing my choices might be helpful to you [Posted on 2007-04-28]
Update October 3rd, 2007
This machine does have a PS/2 port that can be used with a PS/2 mouse.
The batteries in the wireless keyboard don't need frequent replacement.
(I think I am still using my original AA batteries)
It took me a while to discover the PS/2 mouse port nestled cozily in the back panel, immediately under the power cable.
Use a Wired mouse, save your batteries.
NOTE:
Due to past unpleasant experiences with none PC related devices, & leaving batteries in them for too long, I take batteries out to inspect them at least once a week.
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When you open the box of the HP m7780n, you find batteries for all wireless & remote devices included in the Media Center PC package.
Note: After you turn off the machine, remember to remove the batteries from the wireless keyboard & mouse. Why? .... turn over the mouse post shut down to see.
The HP m7780n is a PC that many more people would appreciate if it came bundled with:
1. Windows XP Professional.
2. A 2 GB USB Flash drive. (i.e. Kingston DTR/2GB Ready Flash)
3. A power-supply greater than 300 watts.
4. Two blank DVD-R discs.
5. Quality headphones. ( i.e. speakers sold separately)
6. Single USB to PS/2 two-port splitter for mouse & keyboard. (Manf.by Sabrent)
If you can afford it, here is something else I suggest you purchase:
1. A powered USB hub. (i.e. You might need it after you plug-in your Scanner, Printer(s), USB Flash drive(s), External drive(s), Wireless keyboard signal control station, & Camera)
2. Two extra sticks of 1GB memory. I pch. OCZ 533MHZ DDR2 CL4 (PC2 4200)
As of this writing April 28, 2007, Windows Vista OS supplied with m7780n officially supports:
1. Microsoft Office 2003 and up.
2. Acronis Disk Director Suite 10 (build 2160)
3. O&O Defrag v8.6
Other productivity programs like Palm Desktop, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Nero CD Software, & older Antivirus programs that you may already own, don't work properly. You can verify this at the manufacturer's web sites.
I plugged in, powered on and after initial setup, used the two blank DVD-R discs to make my recovery discs. I advise you to do the same. Vista is expensive to buy separately.
My HP m7780n came with two Western digital 250GB hard drives, configured in the BIOS setup to use RAID vs. the other two available modes: AHCI and IDE.
The RAID feature was not turned on, so the drives functioned independently.
This is important, since the second 250GB drive is empty, & can be use to load Windows XP Pro if you decide Vista is too much of a headache.
However, after turning the machine off you should disconnect the drive containing Vista, and you must change the BIOS hard drive setup to say IDE.
XP drivers working in my HP m7780n are as follows:
1. Intel's Pro Network Connections Software & Drivers (PRO2KXP.EXE)
2. Intel(R) Chipset Software Installation Utility v 8.1.1.1010 (infinst_autol)
3. Lite-On WN5301a wireless b/g adapter.
4. Realtek High Definition Audio Codec (WDM_R165)
5. NVIDIA Display Driver for Windows 2000/XP (version 93.82)
Some of these downloads were big (i.e. +25MB), so I had to borrow a broadband connection.
I did not use the included modem (i.e. Conextant RD01-D850 Modem), but opted for an old unit that had been automatically recognized by XP.
I removed, & placed the WinTV-HVR-1600 tuner card into an antistatic bag. The empty expansion slots space was covered with a metal PC slot cover I had laying around.
My personal computer use doesn't require a TV tuner, and I later realized that the temperature of air coming from the m7780ns power-supply, dropped from hot to warm.
Research showed that upgrade power supplies are supposed to be:
1. ATX12V-HP300BT (Bestec ATX-300-12Z CDR)
2. ATX12V-HP400BT (Bestec ATX-400W))
Get a good LCD monitor if you want a flat screen. You'll need your eyes as you work long hours.
I used the Nvidia software to adjust the screen & make it easy on my eyes.....and I use a 22" Acer AL2216WBD and enlarged windows screen fonts.
The HP m7780n is a machine that performs well at Vista tasks....if you have the Vista compatible productivity software.
Windows XP Pro (i.e. suspect Home Ed. too), is yet to make the HP m7780n break a sweat.
When Vista is more program accessible, I will consider going back.
Working fine so far..... [Posted on 2007-05-15]
Good looking, relatively quiet and oodles more power and capability than really needed. Has had the 'usual' Windows hiccup a couple of times, but that's not really the systems fault......
The ability to record and watch TV programs (Cable not routed to the machine) is actually rather nice, although my better half has more use for it than I do - but as it keeps her quiet - so it's well worth it!!!
So far, no major problems and everything has run like a well oiled machine.....wonder what the next 6 months brings.....
Very disapointed with HP on this computer! [Posted on 2007-07-31]
This computer was really great out of the box and I was having alot of fun with it. It had everything I wanted at a reasonable price. However, I was mainly getting a new PC for a few reasons.
First of all I wanted to get Windows Vista. Which I have to say so far has been great. It flashy and you can easily find files and do much more then XP, just have to get used to it. Secondly I wanted to stream everything from the new PC to my Xbox 360 with this Media Center PC. This is where the very dissapointing factor comes in.
After countless hours on the phone with HP (Routes your calls to India). Also many calls to Xbox 360 support. My brand new HP computer would connect to Media Center but after 20 seconds would freeze up when streaming to the Xbox 360. I tried a few different Xbox 360's and it still did the same thing. I never could get it resolved, so now I have to go though a very painful time of sending it back.
If you want to use this computer to stream media to your Xbox 360 I would not get it!
HP raises the bar for full feature Multimedia PCs [Posted on 2007-09-15]
This PC has been discontinued, replaced by the shortlived M8040N, and recently the newer M8140N. Each succeeding model has been "improved" but not significantly, although the 8xxx series Pavilions are dressed in high gloss black skins, and their internal dual SATA HDDs have increased in capacity to a total of 640GBs. The dual processor core has doubled in L2 Cache memory, but the speed is still 2.13GHZ.
The best thing about this machine and its successors are the rich set of multimedia features based on the nVidia GeForce 7600GT graphics PCI-x16 adapter. This graphics card is quite powerful and has just about the most possible bang for the buck.
There are certainly more powerful graphics (gaming) cards but those can not be used in this machine. The Pavilion's power supply is inadequate, and there are no spare slots for two identical 7600GT cards for parallel graphics processing (nVidia's so-called "SLI" technology).
The PSU is sufficient to expand the system memory to use of all four DIMM memory module slots. The system comes with 2GB - 1GB per slot in two of the four available slots. However, Windows 32bit operating systems (including VISTA) can support a maximum of only 3.25GB.
One thing that should be considered to go along with this PC is a high end monitor display. To use the full capability of the 7600GT graphics resolution, get an LCD monitor that supports 1920x1200. Otherwise, you won't be able to utilize (and fully appreciate) the dazzling, pinpoint sharp, graphics image potential of this PC. I recommend a display that is at least 22", and for mostly reading displayed text, a 24" should be given serious consideration.
Remember, this PC comes with "remotely" wireless enable mouse and keyboard, so you are not restricted to sitting directly in front of the computer monitor. The further away the more difficult it is to read normal size text on the screen.
I suspect the HD-DVD built-in to a desktop PC, is "overkill" unless you plan to use it with a large, living room size, widescreen HDTV capable display. However, it is nice to have but would be better if it supported the Blu-Ray format, in addition to HD-DVD movies.
All things considered this machine is fairly prolific for multimedia applications, as multipurpose PC. With Vista Premium, the Windows Media Center is included, so you can dedicate this PC (with an appropriate display) to be a combination HD-DVD (and regular DVD) player, dual analog-digital television and DVR home entertainment system.
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