The Bottom Line
- Full Gigabyte of Memory
- Excellent Software Package
- 64-Bit Compatible Processor
- Lacks Graphics Expansion Slot
- Media Center OS Out of Place
Description
- Intel Pentium 4 630 (3.0GHz) Processor
- 1GB PC3200 DDR Memory
- 200GB 7,200rpm SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/-RW DL Burner with Lightscribe and 16x DVD-ROM
- Intel High Definition 5.1 Audio
- Intel GMA 900 Integrated Graphics with 128MB Shared Memory
- v.92 56Kbps Modem and 10/100 Ethernet
- Seven USB 2.0, Two FireWire and 9-in-1 Media Reader
- Windows XP Media Center, MS Works 8, Money, Quicken, Encarta, iTunes, WinDVD
Guide Review - HP Pavilion a1140n
8/24/05 – HP's Pavilion a1140n is powered by the Intel Pentium 4 630 (3.0GHz) processor. This is one of the new processors that has the 64-bit extensions allowing support for Windows XP x64 Professional operating system. The system however comes with the Windows XP Media Center. This is very unusual as the system lacks multimedia features such as TV input and output to really take advantage of the Media Center OS.
One of the big things going for the Pavilion a1140n is the memory. Most mainstream systems come equipped with 512MB of memory while the a1140n comes with a full gigabyte. This lets the system run better with larger memory intensive applications such as multimedia applications.
Storage is fairly average for the Pavilion a1140n. The 200GB hard drive provides plenty of space for storing digital media files including photos, music and movies. The 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner allows the system to create music, movie and data CDs and DVDs. In addition to this, the burner also supports Ligthscribe for creating labels directly to compatible optical media.
Graphics is where one of the large shortcomings of the Pavilion a1140n can be found. The system uses the Intel GMA 900 integrated graphics solution. This is fine for basic 2d and 3D graphics but is severely limited for things such as gaming. The problem is the system lacks an AGP or PCI Express graphics expansion slots restricting the user to the integrated graphics.
