subject: Hp Pavilion Elite H8-1010: Lost In The Mainstream-desktop Crowd [print this page] In the crowded realm of mainstream desktops, it typically requires an additional little bit of panache to get noticed. The HP Pavilion Elite H8-1010 ($829 as of October 20, 2011; $699 right after immediate rebate) gives good common performance plus a roomy tough drive, but finally it fails to outshine methods that offer a much better overall appeal.
HP has stashed a two.7GHz Intel Core i5-2390T to the H8-1010, but the change to some lesser-known, OEM-only processor (a dual-core CPU with hyperthreading) isn't going to lower considerably of this system's cost or cost-free up the price range for enhancements. As for that relaxation of this rig's meat and potatoes, 8GB of memory joins a 1TB hard drive.
The H8-1010's scores on our WorldBench six suite of exams have been equivalent to those we have noticed from methods that value less. The $450 Acer Aspire AM3970 involves brain; that finances desktop, equipped using a Core i3-2100 CPU, earned a WorldBench 6 score of 131, near to the H8-1010's mark of 139. Don't count on the H8-1010's graphics performance to avoid wasting the day, either--it output only eleven frames per 2nd on our regular Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark (2560 by 2100 resolution at premium quality). We needed to dial that exam again to some resolution of 1024 by 768 (high quality) simply to see playable benefits.
The chassis is a modern refresh of HP's standard design: black and glossy, with stealthed drive bays on the front. Inside, you will see messy internal wiring. A odd locking mechanism secures products into your system's two five.25-inch bays. One particular arrives prepopulated using a regular DVD burner--nowadays, we are employed to seeing Blu-ray drives even on the lowliest of PCs, especially when they are media-oriented. You happen to be stuck with screws for your simple readily available three.5-inch bay. Eventually, an unimpressive locking mechanism secures gadgets for your motherboard's three (certainly, three) open up PCI Express x1 slots. Who wants that many PCI Express x1 connections on the expense of, nicely, almost everything else?
The port diversity in the H8-1010 is also wanting. A complete of four USB ports reside in front: two on the top, and two concealed beneath a panel underneath the built-in multiformat card reader. Four much more USB ports adorn the desktop's rear ?- and that is pretty much it for connections, save for your gigabit ethernet port. A DVI port and an HDMI port are on the included ATI Radeon Hd 6450 graphics card. And we suppose it is good to have built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity on this technique.
Equally the keyboard and mouse that HP materials together with the H8-1010 are wireless. We appreciate that, though equally devices' button layouts are generic and uninspiring.
The conserving graces of this HP desktop are its very good general efficiency, its sufficient memory, and its typical hard-drive room. If you are searching for any standard workhorse, nevertheless, it barely outpaces the Acer AM3970, a desktop that expenses hundreds much less. And for just a couple hundred more, the Micro Express MicroFlex 68B dwarfs the H8-1010 in performance and attributes. Amid desktops, the competition is actually a bit too intense for the HP Pavilion Elite H8-1010 to distinguish alone.
