- Low Cost
- 64-bit Version of Vista
- Smaller Hard Drive
- Large Amount of Trialware
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2200 Dual Core Processor
- 3GB PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory
- 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner With LightScribe
- NVIDIA GeForce 7100 Integrated Graphics
- HDA Audio
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet
- Six USB 2.0, Two FireWire, 15-in-1 Card Reader
- Vista Home Premium 64-bit, Works 9, CyberLink DVD Suite, autoProducer, Norton Internet Security
10/21/08 - HP seems to be looking at the economic climate in the world and using it to decide how to produce its entry level desktop PCs. The Pavilion a6600f is the latest in a long line of low cost desktop PCs that drops the price compared to the previous a6500f model. One might assume this is due to reduced costs in the components, but it appears that HP is reducing the overall features of the computer.
For instance, the processor of the Pavilion a6600f does use a same Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 processor as the a6500f, but the company reduced the overall system memory from 4GB to 3GB. This doesn't reduce the performance too much on the system. The issue really is that more companies are now offering 4GB standard on budget desktop computer systems. At least HP still includes the 64-bit version of Vista so that the system can properly support 4GB and more of memory is users wish to upgrade the memory.
The big disappointment comes from the storage on the Pavilion a6600f. The a6500f featured a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, a size that the industry seems to be standardizing for the budget segment. HP has decided to drop the hard drive size down to 320GB to cut costs. This leaves users with a third less space for storing applications and digital media. HP still includes their standard dual layer DVD burner with LightScribe media support though.
As with pretty much ever HP system, it comes preloaded with a large number of applications. This is good in that it provides users with just about any application they might need, but it also loads the system with a fair amount of trialware that decreases the overall performance and storage space on the system. Buyers will want to clean the system of unwanted applications to improve performance and free up drive space.
