Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This computer is working well. I was skeptical about buying it, since my laptop was not even a year old, but I'm glad I made the change. It's very fast - almost instant on. The Touchsmart feature is not too practical. The 22" screen is more comfortable several feet away. Can't reach the screen, so I optimized it for the mouse. I did look at the Touchsmart software and found it of little interest. The large screen is very practical for my needs, though. I have plenty of table space right in front of me, rather than filling it with computer.
The cordless keyboard works very well. Lot of times the cordless equipment doesn't keep up with my typing. Love the larger delete key. The mouse is a bit stiff, but it operates mouse-intensive games fine.
All my software and wireless printer set up easily, as did internet connections. The little cover on the ports is a bit difficult to remove and replace. The shiny finish is quite a dust enhancer. Somewhere the black frame got scratched at the bottom of the screen right in the middle.
I like the HP Pocket Media plug-in backup drives. The HP website shows the drive as an accessory to the 500 series Touchsmart. I phoned their sales people twice to ask about drive capacity and where the drive was inserted into this unit, and both confirmed the PC had a slot in the top, so I ordered the 500gb drive from HP at the same time I ordered the PC from Amz. PC arrived, and there is no slot. Another call to HP revealed that only the 800 series accommodates this drive. So I have to attach it via USB. The whole idea of the Pocket Media is that they slide right into their own slots in the PCs for which they are made. I found it interesting that both the people and the website at HP were sloppy about this accessory. HP is very generous about returns, but I wanted the larger capacity drive, so I kept it. By the way, this is the second HP computer I've had for which these plug-in drives were misrepresented on their website. First time it happened, a couple computers ago, I could not get anybody to acknowledge the error and correct the site.
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HP TouchSmart IQ524 Desktop PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)Redesigned with a next-generation, touch-enabled 22-inch high-definition LCD screen, the HP TouchSmart IQ524 all-in-one desktop PC is designed to fit wherever life happens: in the kitchen, family room, or living room. With one touch you can check the weather, download your e-mail, or watch your favorite TV show. It's also designed to maximize energy, with a power-saving Intel Core 2 Duo processor and advanced power management technology, as well as material efficiency--right down to the packaging. It has a sleek piano black design with elegant espresso side-panel highlights, and the HP Ambient Light lets you set a mood--or see your keyboard in the dark.
The TouchSmart IQ524 comes with a bevy of special software features to make your computing life a breeze, including TouchSmart Video and Photo for quickly sharing your snapshots and videos to the web, TouchSmart Calendar for helping your family manage its busy, overlapping schedule, and TouchSmart Notes for both text and voice notes right at your fingertips. And it comes with a wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse to help you keep clutter to a minimum.
It's powered by the 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, which boosts speed, reduces power requirements, and saves on battery life. It also offers a fast 800 MHz front-side bus speed and 2 MB L2 cache It has a built-in webcam and microphone for video chats with family and friends, and it includes integrated stereo speakers that produce crisp, clear audio from DVD movies and downloaded video purchases. Other features include a 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB maximum), a dual-layer DVD±RW drive, the latest in Wi-Fi networking (802.11n as well as backward compatibility with 802.11b/g), Bluetooth wireless technology, Gigabit Ethernet, and an Intel GMA X3100 graphics with up to 1759 MB of total available memory.
The pre-installed 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1) includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. In addition to easily playing your DVD movies and managing your digital audio library, you'll be able to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV). Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.
HP and the Environment HP is committed to providing products that are designed with the environment in mind, and all HP TouchSmart IQ 500 series PCs have earned Energy Star and EPEAT Silver designations. They also use HP power management technology can reduce PC energy use up to 45 percent, and their chassis design uses 55 percent less metal and 37 percent less plastic than standard PCs and monitors. To top it off, the new packaging design greatly reduces plastic foam cushioning materials.
The Basics
Processor: The Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor has a 2.0 GHz processor speed, fast 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
With two computational execution cores in a single processor, it provides greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It's optimized for multitasking and is ready to support the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. It can simultaneously run multiple demanding applications--such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications--while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background. Some of the advanced Intel innovations of the Core 2 Duo processor include:
Smart Memory Access: Improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed.
Advanced Digital Media Boost: Effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.
Dynamic Power Coordination: Coordinates Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and idle power-management state (C-states) transitions independently per core to help save power.
Deeper Sleep with Dynamic Cache Sizing: Saves power by flushing cache data to system memory during periods of inactivity to lower CPU voltage.
Hard Drive: The 500 GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 RPM) provides more than enough space for storing all your photos and home movies, your digital audio library, and downloaded movies and TV shows. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to Firewire and USB 2.0.
Memory: The 4 GB of installed RAM (PC6400, 2 x 2 GB) helps boost the amount of available video RAM that's shared with this desktop's video card. It also offers a fast 800 MHz speed and an amazing 8 GB maximum RAM capacity (4 x 2 GB). To receive the faster data transfer benefits of the dual-channel DDR2 RAM, any RAM additions require memory modules of same capacity and clockspeed.
DVD/CD Drive: This multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with writing both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. It features 6x DVD±R DL Write Once, 8x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 8x DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW, 16x DVD-ROM, 24x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, and 40x CD-ROM speeds.
Keyboard & Mouse: This TouchSmart PC comes with an HP low-profile Wireless Keyboard with numeric keypad as well as an HP Wireless laser mouse.
Screen, Video & Audio The touch-enabled 22-inch widescreen BrightView LCD offers height/tilt adjustment for optimal viewing. It offers a native resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, which includes 128 MB of dedicated video memory (and up to 1759 MB total graphics memory as allocated by the system) and provides Windows Vista Aero interface support and enhanced 3D graphics performance--delivering over 2x scores on 3DMark 06. Intel Clear Video Technology provides outstanding video playback with sharper image quality, increased clarity, and customizable color controls. It also enables enhanced visual quality of interlaced content on progressive displays. The integrated audio card is configurable to 6-speaker surround sound, and it can provide two-channel audio via its integrated 4W speakers.
Networking, Connectivity & Expansion Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated tri-mode Wi-Fi chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in older home routers). You'll enjoy wireless connectivity to a wide range of peripherals with the built-in Bluetooth. This TouchSmart PC also offers ultra-fast Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000). It comes with the following external connectors:
5 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players (2 front, 3 rear)
1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
2 headphone jack (front
1 line-in and 1 line-out jack (back)
1 IR receiver
10/100/1000 Ethernet
5-in-1 memory card reader (Secure Digital, MultiMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD Picture Card)
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit version) is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect via Wi-Fi.
Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.
Preloaded Software
HP MediaSmart Software Suite: Your one-stop multimedia and entertainment center to create photo slideshows, share personal videos, listen to your favorite music playlists and watch DVD movies.
muvee Reveal Premium: Automatically create professional looking home videos and burn to DVD.
Cyberlink DVD Suite: Automatically fix and edit videos and create CDs and DVDs. Edit, burn and archive data to discs.
Microsoft Works 9: Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database and calendar.
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (60-day trial version).
Adobe Reader 8: Read and print PDF files.
Norton Internet Security 2009 protects your PC and your identity when you email, bank and shop online; 60 days of protection updates included.
Dimensions & Weight This desktop measures 21 x 17.4 x 2.6 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 24 pounds.
What's in the Box This package contains the HP TouchSmart IQ524 desktop PC, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, and power cord. Every HP TouchSmart PC comes with special HP Total Care, which includes 24/7 service and support for the first year via HP's North America call center and dedicated toll-free telephone support in English and Spanish in the United States.
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