HP Pavilion A6220N Desktop PC (Intel Core2 Duo Processor E4500, 2 GB RAM, 400 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) Reviews

• Expansion? Be prepared to replace the power supply!

  
  By A3JJYIYDNQ6LGY on 2007-11-07
  I don't have this model, but I do have two other HP Desktops. The point of this review is to warn you that most HP Desktops are significantly under-powered. The 6200 unit has a 250w power supply and the 6230 has 300w(per their parts list on the web site)... Although there is a lot of room to add-on, you can't do much with only 250watts. Most decent PCIe video boards require at least 350w. I have a model a1450n (300w) and a a6009n (250w), both AMD 64x2 CPUs. The a6009n has a mother board with a 24-pin input socket for power(as do most new motherboards), but the power supply only has the older 20-pin output (the extra 4-pins are supposed to be to get extra power to the mother board to accomodate various add-ons, including accessories/peripherals that use USB ports. It works, but just minimal power.
  
  The thing that burns me is HP makes it quite difficult to get power supply specs because they know they would be a liability (but they sure promote the extra slots and expandability). The only way to find out is to actually look inside the case or check the parts list on their web site.
  
  The bottom line is you should plan to replace the power supply if you're going to add-on much to your system. Besides the inconvenience, that's an extra $50-$150... and a wasted, useless replaced power supply.
  
  

• Good bargain, but...

  
  By A2KPNT7STAHL4I on 2007-10-09
  I just got the HP Pavilon a6220n this week. For the price, it is a really good value. However, be aware that despite the fact that there is a fax/modem included, vista home premium does not allow you to send out faxes. Apparently, the faxing feature is only part of the Vista business or Ultimate versions. If you are considering upgrading from a computer with XP and planning on transferring your current software/ applications (Quicken, etc), be sure to check if your current applications are Vista compliant (otherwise, you should keep in account the cost of buying newer versions of your applications).
  
  

• Great Bang for the Buck - Good expandability

  
  By A1VTMEWTJXB4Y6 on 2007-12-23
  I have been using the HP Pavillion A6220N desktop since about couple of months now. I bought it from the local computer store for 599 USD. The configuration included E4500 Dual core processor, 400Gb Hard disk, 2Gb RAM and other stock options.
  
  Since buying it I have upgraded its CPU to a Quad Core Intel Q6600, Memory to 8Gb and added 2 Seagate SATA Hard disks in RAID0 (Striping) mode Like one of the other reviewers mentioned, the power supply had to be upgraded from the original 350W to 500W. I also had to buy SATA power and data split cables to use the 2 new drives. Also there is only space for one more Hard disk inside the drive cage - I found that a bit odd. So I had to put my 3rd HDD in an eSATA enclosure. For the eSATA enclosure to work I had to add a Silicon Image eSATA RAID card in one of the PCI slots where there was the modem originally. (I do not need a modem.)
  
  I also upgraded the Graphics card - as I am no gamer I chose the cheap but sufficiently fast Nvidia 8400GS - remember the Graphics card that originally ships with this desktop is the Intel GMA X3100 and it does NOT have a DVI-Out port.
  
  Overall the upgrades were easy.
  
  I run Vista Ultimate x64 edition and it works fine - I had to download the 64-bit Intel AHCI drivers from Intel site and update the Realtek Audio drivers from HP product page but apart from that everything else was automatically configured.
  
  Vista x64 runs great - suspending the computer works most times - very infrequently it fails to suspend, but it retries later and that succeeds anyway. It is stable and of course fast with the 4 CPUs and 8Gb RAM!
  
  I also run Ubuntu Linux on it - it works right out of the box too. Something to know if you want to run Linux on it - there is lots of disk space to run multiple operating systems.
  
  So if you are looking for something that works out-of-box with ample horse power or if you are looking for something that can be upgraded relatively easily to a high end machine, this is the right product at a great price.
  
  

• bad dvd driver

  
  By A1RW0B4GE58VGN on 2007-11-26
  this is my second pc ( I had to return the first one)because it had a problem with the dvd recorder,also i called HP and they told me that it was a software problem and they sent me a recovery disk,that did not fixed it.
  So I went ahead and had it exchange ,and now the dvd works but I received a warning on the total care advisor that read "your dvd driver may not be working" so the advisor ran a scan ,and it came out good.
  But now I still afraid that it migth go bad.... So far so good ... we'll see.HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop PC (AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5000+, 2 GB RAM, 360 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
  
  Other than that it's an ok pc for the price .
  
  

• Video is not good

  
  By A1I4NHYX40MFD on 2007-12-24
  I upgraded my kid's computer from a Compaq to this HP a6220n. She likes to play Sims 2 Deluxe. She says the people are fuzzier on this computer than the Compaq. I had upgraded the Compaq's video card, so evidently this 2 yr old ATI video upgrade is better than the Intel onboard video. Not good in my eyes. Too bad they don't mention which motherboard is installed with the CPU.
  
  Also, the DVD player makes a clunking noise. Customer service is going to send me a new one.
  
  
• DOA - 2 Units
  By A2AVVEH1V53IJW on 2007-12-19
  I purchased 2 a6220n desktops. Both came when promised. Neither would boot up into Vista. I tried factory setting restore, etc., called the HP 24X7 help line. The agent repeated my actions and gave up. He did commit to "do some research" and call me back on his next shift (tonight). I also called Amazon to alert them to the problem. Their response was to say I could return the units for 2 "new" ones, which would be "OK" (I admire their confidence). I did read the reviews before deciding to buy these units and saw nothing that resembled my problem. I can confirm that it is extremely quiet, and the keyboard and mouse are "flimsy", but can't comment on anything else objectively.
  
  
• Somewhat disappointed
  By AZ3RMPJ40XLK7 on 2008-01-11
  HP Pavilion a6200n is supposed to be a well-designed desktop in every respect, however while having a PC geek doing the installation of the unit,I am quite shocked to learn that the DVI connector to monitor was NOT there as video card can still only display as analog,NOT digital - although nowadays quite a lot of ECONOMICAL brand/model desktops at about HALF-the-PRICE of the HP Pavilion a6200n do have BOTH analog and digital connectors to the LCD monitors.
  
  
• HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop - Works with Ubuntu!
  By A3CFTEL7WZASZJ on 2008-02-10
  The HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop is a rather stylish-looking (and very quiet) machine that a friend purchased as a replacement for an E-Machines PC that died. After trying Ubuntu (Gutsy) he wanted the same OS installed on this new machine. I'm pleased to say Microsoft Vista is no more - in fact, it never even got to start as I booted straight into an Ubuntu Install CD - and everything worked great out-of-the-box.
  
  I would recommend this machine as an excellent buy for those who need a reasonably priced Linux box, with very good performance for the money.
  
  Things I learned during the Ubuntu installation:
  
  1) Don't accept the default video driver - choose 'GeForce6 series' - your performance will be massively improved,
  
  2) There is no parallel port on this machine - you will need to purchase a parallel port card or a USB-parallel port adapter if you have an old parallel port printer,
  
  3) To get DVD playing to work reliably, you need to install 'non-free' software from Medibuntu (http://www.medibuntu.org/). This is quite painless but unfortunately necessary. I found that without doing this, only one of my DVDs would play (which fooled me for a while, when I discovered others would not),
  
  In short, this machine is a bargain and you can easily trash the bundled Microsoft Vista and put a decent operating system on it instead. For those who take issue with what seems like an inflammatory statement, I would only say that the person for whom I installed Ubuntu was delighted with one thing in particular 'You put a DVD or CD in and it just plays! Fantastic!'. Before, he had to do - to him - an unreasonable amount of Windows navigation to choose a DVD-playing program. Ubuntu delivered exactly what he expected - 'I put the DVD in, I want it to play'.
  
  You can see why I didn't hesitate to wipe Vista from the newly-acquired machine!
  
  
• Couldn't Be Happier!
  By A4LBXUT9VXMBA on 2008-02-25
  After looking at many brands, I finally decided that the wise decision was to go with the HP. For the money, no other brand could even come close to all of the many pros this machine has to offer. My internet is lighting fast and with the huge amount of space on the hard drive I reinstalled my Kodak Easy Share program. Even with this large program taking up hard drive space, it will take a long time for me to use the rest of it up! I love Windows Vista as well.
  
  I am so happy with this machine and I wish I would have purchased it a long time ago!
  
  
• Very Good Value
  By A2YEQ5I9VWRFAX on 2008-01-21
  I am not a computer person, but realized that the 7 year old IBM I had was totally inadequate in every category of my needs. I primarily wanted a computer that could operate effectively on the internet. It needed to be fast enough to download videos and music, and otherwise support school projects, personal finances and home photos/videos. So, technically, this computer is probably capable of doing a great deal more than what I need and it is operating very well. I did get into a great amount of trouble because of trying to load my old programs. Apparently, Microsoft Vista is not compatible with alot of XP programs and I inadvertently froze the CD input. I called the HP help number and they patiently walked me through a series of troubleshooting steps that re-baselined the computer. It works fine now but I would caution people that Vista is not friendly to the unskilled, like myself. My bottom line is: Pro: the computer is a great value and operates fine. HP is excellent in their 1-800 support. Con: I would have appreciated a bit more of an owners manual. I wish I could have chosen XP or Vista, I definitely would have chosen XP and I don't know how to change it. So, if you're okay with Vista, I would say this is a great value.
  
  
• ONE OF THE WORST COMPUTERS YOU CAN BUY
  By A15MYQI72GTWUZ on 2008-01-29
  This computer has a 250 watt power supply that you'll have to replace, unless your just going to check your e-mail. The Intel Core 2 Dual CPU is the slowest microprocessor I've ever owned. I owned a HP computer years ago and it was great. I can see this is no more than a Compaq Computer. And Compaq computers were never any good. Believe me don't even think about a HP Computer. You'll be really depressed a week after you get it. Oh by the way, it has no sound or video card to write home about. EJ Kelly
  
  
• HP Pavillion A6220N
  By A2SPU8EZZW2S9U on 2007-12-22
  This computer is perfect for photos and movies. Core 2 Dou Processor has the capability for future projects in photo editing. Has Intel Viiv for media use. Perfect for home use. Havn't quite use to full capabilities yet, but if any problems arise, i will review product again.
  
  
• Great value, and great performance for general home use, but...
  By A3KFWTZ1S5KWYE on 2007-12-29
  It took uninstalling much of the preinstalled software before I could get good performance. IE hung up when transferring attachments in GMail until I uninstalled the internet security suite and replaced it with a less resource-hungry alternative (for me, Avira since I have experience with it, but there are many good other ones). I believe we now have a system that'll meet our needs for years of home use; I have not tried any graphics-intensive games however.
  
  
• Good PC but .....
  By A2I5PY02XEB33H on 2008-01-01
  I really like this PC but the software is only fair. I don't really like Vista, would have preferred XP. The Microsoft Office and the Norton are only 60-day trial versions. For the money, should have been full versions. The PC hardware itself is very good. I would recommend this PC.
  
  
• The HP A6200N is a Excellent value
  By AB6FQYYN7JZIP on 2008-01-11
  I recently replaced the HP A6200N desktop from Amazon. Excellent value as there was no ales tax and no shipping charges. The HP arrived at my house two days after I ordered it. Great service.
  
  
• HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop Computer
  By A31SGPWM78XBAJ on 2008-01-18
  We purchased the HP Pavilion A6200N for my dad for christmas. I was surprized at how well it run. my dad is pretty computer eliderate, and he was running windows 2000 and i was really surprised at how well he learnt vista. I really like the ease of use that microsoft has made vista from XP. The Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5000+, does very well at multi-tasking. And with the 2 Gb of ram that came with it, Personaly i would have max the memory out which i believe that model will take up to 4 GB. The 360 Gb HD is more than enough storage for the average person. I highly recommend this desktop.
  Vista you read and research and study before buying a computer, I had heard alot of bad things about vista but once i operated around in it for a couple of day vista is actually easier than XP i think.
  
  
• HP Pavilion Desktop
  By A15C2VKGJ74FDG on 2008-01-20
  I've been very happy with this.
  Only one CD drive, but other than that, no recommendations to improve it.
  Vista has worked great since the word go.
  
  
• HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop PC
  By A2O6YQJINQLYFA on 2008-01-25
  I was very satisfied with this product but Vista requires some effort to get it to work with a previous printer and some software just won't work. Be prepared to spend time searching the websites for downloads to help solve some of these problems.
  
  
• Died after 3 weeks
  By A1FD4PM8HFQVLK on 2008-02-08
  I'm a strong supporter of HP. I purchased this machine and started using it. I was happy with the performance. Not crazy about Vista, but non the less was getting used to it. One day I came home to find the computer not working. Amazon will not replace or help, I had to go directly to HP for service. They were supposed to send a box here from Fed Ex but it still hasn't arrived due to an error on their part. 6 days later I'm still waiting for a box to send the unit in for service. They feel it is the system board or power supply. As you can imagine, I'm not real thrilled at this point.
  
  
• Excellent Budget Desktop, HIghly Recommended
  By A2X37IVZTH8ZRL on 2008-03-03
  None of the problems described by negative reviews on Amazon occurred for me at all. I purchased this PC a month ago. As I am a gamer I will be installing new Power Supply next month, along with new graphics card, but even as-is the system runs World of Warcraft (an older game) at very acceptable frame rates on medium settings. Make sure to disable all of the HP software bundled with this thing in Selective Startup, (its useless).
  
  
  This machine is a perfectly fine desktop for basic needs, and is a great platform for future upgrades, provided you upgrade PSU, which many other reviewers also mentioned. The lack of a dedicated graphics card is also a pain, but as there is a wealth of expansion slots, including PCI Express 16, it isn't that big of a deal.
  
  All of these Vista nightmares I expected never panned out. Vista just isn't that bad an OS, despite what I feared.
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Build your own computer, don't buy one and get ripped off!
  By A3VBVORJ38FPOU on 2008-07-24
  I'm going to tell you right now. Most people will buy this computer because they either don't have time to build their own, or simply don't have the time. I will also tell you that it would be a big mistake. I built my own computer for $720 and some change that is much better than this. I'll compare the specs below.
  
  Hard Drive
  
  While this computer has a 360GB hard drive, mine rocks a 640GB hard drive that's backed with a 5-year warranty. Not to shabby, eh? That's almost a 78% bigger hard drive.
  
  DVD/CD Drive
  
  I have a 20x DVD/CD Burner with lightscribe/dual-layer capabilities which is the same as the one that comes with this computer, only faster, as this computer's drive is only 16x.
  
  RAM
  
  Though both my computer and this computer have 2GB's of RAM, there is a difference...the speed. The RAM on this computer runs at 667MHz, while mine runs at 1066MHz. Also, my motherboard has a max amount of 16GBs, while the motherboard that comes with this computer maxes out at 8GBs.
  
  Motherboard
  
  As mentioned above, my motherboard has a higher amount of possible RAM, but that's not all it has going for it. My motherboard has a FSB of 5200MT/s while this motherboard has only 2000MT/s. Quite a difference if you ask me. There are also a few different things you'd see my motherboard has that this one doesn't, though minimal.
  
  Graphics
  
  While this computer comes with nothing but onboard graphics mine looks stunning on my 22" widescreen monitor when it's connected to my 8800GT. I can't even begin to tell you the difference between onboard graphics, and an actual graphics card, let alone the 8800GT. You'll NEVER want to go back to onboard graphics once you've seen what "real" graphics cards can actually do.
  
  Power Supply
  
  This seems to be a big problem among must buyers. With this computer you get a wimpy 250-watt power supply which is good for nothing except what's already on the computer. If you even want to add a few things you'll want to upgrade your power supply first which can cost another $50 (give or take) to what you've already spent. However, my computer has a 700-watt power supply which powers everything in my computer seamlessly, AND leaves room for anything else I might want to add.
  
  CPU
  
  Though the CPU in this computer is nice (AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz), you might find mine to be the real attention grabber, being an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz.
  
  Computer Case
  
  I'm not going to lie, I don't have the greatest looking case, but it gets the job done, and with over 1900+ happy owners (including me) who have had no problems, I'm not going to complain.
  
  
  Now, to end my review, I'm just going to ask everyone, why? Not really, I'm going to rant on some more, but I think people should really take the time to learn how to build their own computer. It's actually a very easy process, and can save you hundreds of dollars. In my case it didn't save me any money, per se, but I did get a much better computer for the same price. If I had chosen to make the exact computer shown here (on Amazon) I could have easily saved anywhere from $200-$400. Either way, I spent almost exactly the same amount to build a computer that is possibly 10x better. All the products I used are below, and if you have the time, I recommend you look into building your own computer.
  
  PLEASE NOTE---I did not include the price of Vista. You should be able to find Vista for anywhere from $120-$200 depending on which version you want, which will obviously put you up a bit, maybe to $850, but you can easily leave out the 8800GT and use the $150 you would've spent on that on a copy of Vista, or whichever OS you want. Even if you choose not to get the 8800GT you'll still have better on board graphics, and all the other components will still be better as well. Hope that informed people!
  
  
  
  -Samsung DVD Burner SH-S203N-------------------$26.99
  -Western Digital Caviar 640GB WD6400AAKS--------$89.99
  -BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ (Motherboard)------$79.99
  -COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW (Case)---$49.99
  -EVGA GeForce 8800 GT 512-P3-N801-AR-----------$149.99
  -OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V------$114.99
  -G.SKILL RAM (2x 1GB) F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK--------$59.99
  -AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz ADX6400CZBOX----$149.00
  
  
  Please note, prices vary by store and time of purchase.
  
  
• HP Pavilion A6200N Desktop Processor
  By A1A5HBTY7FDEV6 on 2008-01-18
  I have owned this processor about two weeks and still fine tuning it. So far, the hardware has performed well and with no problems. I went from Windows 98 SE operating system to the Windows Vista, Premimum. I also purchased a book from Amazon entitled SAMS Teach Yourself written by Greg Perry on Windows Vista, all in one. This book I would strongly recommend to anyone who is installing Windows Vista. It has made the conversion very enjoyable. I am quite satified with my purchases from Amazon!!
  
  
• GREAT UNIT
  By A3QNPSYXSK8S08 on 2008-01-18
  Received the computer right on time. It is fast and easy to use. Very pleased with Amazon's service.
  
  
• Desktop
  By AKXSDH6VY929 on 2008-01-19
  Machine is working well. Vista home premium hangs up getting online after being in "sleep" mode for a while. Probably never use the Pocket media drive bay, as too expensive vs a USB portable multi GB stick. No problem running with my not so new Compaq 19" monitor.
  
  
• Problem computer
  By AP20SFZZ28J0S on 2008-01-19
  We set up the machine at home and things were sweet to begin with. However after a couple of weeks we had some trouble with it not shutting down or starting properly. I am sure this is just a lemon and not a representation of this model and certainly not of HP. We are returning this to Amazon and are trying to decide what we will do to replace this computer. We liked the speed and 360GB hard drive on the A6200N!
  
  
• vista premium-poor substitute for xp windows
  By AKADAXTYNLW9A on 2008-02-09
  Always owned HP Pavillions. Vista premium is too confusing and has many features that require you to buy services. It would not accept my earlier printer or scanner. Lost many other features that my earlier HP could do. Was unable to buy an HP with windows XP home so I went to a computer company that had one. Unfortunately most other computers have Vista Premium too--big mistake.
  
  
• Love it Love it Love it
  By A1DZ4LE7RUD9JF on 2008-02-09
  I have not found the Vista to be a problem. The system is fast and excellent. I paired it with a samsung 20" flat panel digital monitor and for under 900 bucks have a perfect system. Definitely the biggest bang for the buck I have seen! Paula
  
  
• seriously good for the money
  By A2MKV9ZE2P420C on 2008-02-10
  For what I paid this thing is fantastic. Not a serious gamer rig but it will run H.264 (QuickTime) with few difficulties. Do get some lag when multitasking but that shouldn't be a surprise. Anyone who says Vista has problems may be right but that is only because they don't know how to use it. Personally, I like this machine.
  
  
• No problems yet
  By ACKN6S7Q2TSCM on 2008-02-10
  We have only had this PC hooked up for a few weeks but so far we have experienced no problems. I had heard many negative things about Windows Vista and problems with incompatability with software. Surprisingly, I was able to load most of our software, some of which is six or seven years old. The only issue I had in connecting our printer was that I had to go to the HP website to find an alternate printer driver. The website had very clear instructions regarding how to do this and we got it connected first try.
  
  Overall we are very happy with this product. This PC is replacing our previous HP PC, which we were also satified with. Don't let all the negative comments regarding Vista scare you off...it's not nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
  
  
• computer is ok, but HP help is useless
  By A1F83G19KOPKQG on 2008-02-10
  i connected the desktop to my 47" LCD and got a message that the video signal was not supported so i called HP help. they told me the video card would not support this size TV and i would have to order another for $100. they also said the card would only support TV's up to 27" (or something like that). i considered returning the computer, but after another attempt it worked fine (i didn't do anything to get it to work, it just worked). the reason i gave it 4 stars is because of the HP service and i am not thrilled with the XP OS.
  
  

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard [OLD VERSION]
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007 FULL VERSION
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
• Norton Internet Security 2008 up to 3 Users [OLD VERSION]
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 [OLD VERSION]

• HP W1907 19-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor
• HP W2007 20-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
• HP Officejet 5610 All-in-One Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier (Q7311A#ABA)
• HP Deskjet F4180 All-in-One Printer/Scanner/Copier (CB584A#A2L)