HP Pavilion p7-1031 Mainstream Desktop PC

Aug 15 2011 - The HP Pavilion p7-1031 has the problem of trying to be a scaled up budget system but the features and price put it in an odd place. For many users, the added features may not be enough to justify buying a more affordable system that drops a dedicated graphics card and wireless networking. On the other hand, it doesn't offer enough performance for those looking to do some tasks where they might be better off spending a bit more to get a quad core processor instead of a dual core one.

Aug 15 2011 - HP's Pavilion p7-1031 seems to straddle the gap between a budget class desktop and a mainstream model. First, its price is just under $700 which is too high for a budget desktop but very inexpensive for a mainstream system. The best way to explain it is HP has taken their budget desktop system and spruced it up with a few extra features that sets it apart from its less expensive counterparts but doesn't quite reach the same levels as some slightly more expensive desktops..

The base for the HP Pavilion p7-1031 is the new Intel Core i3-2100 processor. This second generation Core i processor offers a significant boost in performance over the past i3 models. Unlike the Core i5 models though, this is a dual core processor rather than a quad core. This is fairly important distinction as spending roughly $100 more can move you up to a quad core system which will greatly benefit tasks such as desktop video or heavy multitasking. At least HP includes 8GB of DDR3 memory with the processor. This is something that a number of companies tend to skimp on when they try to reduce their overall cost of a PC. It also means that it should run smooth in most tasks. The downside is that the system only has two memory slots which means upgrading the memory requires removal of the existing modules.

Storage features are pretty typical for the majority of desktops with a similar price tag. The one terabyte hard drive provides a good amount of space for applications, data and media files. One nice aspect to it is the traditional 7200rpm spin rate that provides it with a bit better performance than many budget desktops and even some mainstream models that use the green drives that spin at a slower rate which help reduce costs but also some performance. A dual layer DVD burner is standard for handling playback and recording of CD or DVD media. One downside to its budget nature though is the peripheral ports. The system has just six USB 2.0 ports compared to many others than offer between eight and ten. In addition, it does not feature any of the new higher speed USB 3.0 ports or eSATA for use with high performance external storage solutions.

Most desktops in this price range will completely sacrifice the graphics system to an integrated solution. This isn't terribly bad with Intel's new HD Graphics systems built onto the processor but it still lags behind a dedicated processor in certain tasks. HP has included an AMD Radeon HD 6450 graphics card with the system. This benefits those who want to do some low resolution and detail level casual PC gaming. In addition, it will help accelerate tasks such as Adobe Photoshop CS. The benefits are mitigated though by the relatively low 512MB of graphics memory on the card compared to many others that use 1GB. In addition, the power supply is a very low wattage model that can't really support any graphics card that requires PCI-Express power connectors. Of course, if you don't really need the graphics card, one can save a bit of money and go with the Pavilion p7-1030 which relies on the HD Graphics instead.

At least HP continued their trend of including wireless networking with many of their desktop systems. This allows it to be easily integrated into a home wireless networking rather than relying on stringing network cables. Much of the competition at this price range still does not include this feature.