HP Pavilion Elite HPE-250f Mainstream Desktop PC

Aug 13 2010 - HP has finally corrected some of the mistakes with their HPE-250f desktop that were introduced by the HPE-150f. The system keeps the same strong performing Core i7 processor and 8GB of memory but upgrades the graphics to be much better for those hoping to use the system for gaming as well as returning the Blu-ray compatible drive for those wanting to use it as a media center. Overall, the system is a good all-around desktop system as long as you don't really plan on doing any internal upgrades.

Aug 13 2010 - The HP Pavilion Elite HPE-250f is primarily a minor update to their previous HPE-150f model. Many of the base features remain exactly the same as the past model. This includes the Intel Core i7-860 quad core processor that provides it with a large amount of performance. HP combines this with 8GB of DDR3 memory to allow the system to run multiple applications without the fear of slowdowns.

One of the big upgrades from the previous model to the HPE-250f is a Blu-ray compatible optical drive. This allows the system to playback high definition Blu-ray movies making it a good option for someone who also wants it to double as a home entertainment center. The drive can also record and playback CDs and DVDs as well as burn labels directly to LightScribe compatible media. A one terabyte hard drive provides plenty of space for applications, data and media.

The other big switch by HP with the HPE-250f is the graphics system. Previously, the company used a mediocre NVIDIA graphics card. This version of the system comes with a Direct X 11 compatible ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card. This allows the system to be used for PC gaming up to the 1920x1200 resolution just fine with many modern games. The upgrade also required that the power supply of the system be upgraded from the previous 300W model in order to support the new graphics card.

While the new graphics card is a welcome addition for those that want to use it for PC gaming, there are still some limitations. The system does not feature a second PCI-Express graphics card slot for creating a CrossFire setup for additional performance. In fact, there is very little room inside of the system for upgrades. All of the memory slots are used and there are no available expansion card slots. This won't be a problem for many people as the performance and features should let the system run well for many years.

HP continues to include their wireless networking into their Pavilion Elite systems. It uses the 802.11n networking allowing it to use the fastest wireless home networking available. This allows users to put the system just about anywhere in the homes when used with a wireless network. Once again, this makes it easy to integrated the PC into a home theater environment.

Overall, the changes to the HPE-250f are a big step up from the previous HPE-150f model and makes this system much more on par with the original Core i7 900 series Pavilion Elite models released over a year ago.