No, they're not Mac compatible. HP owners, feel free to share how versatile these systems are for today's student (or just as a good starter system)!

I would exercise caution if you are considering buying one of these systems. While I can't speak to any of these models specifically, I purchased a top-spec refurbished HP desktop earlier this summer and have been having unending trouble with the computer and, more importantly, with HP's customer service. The first day I turned it on, I had blue screen shutdowns, and they have continued for months despite hours and hours of tech support calls.

HP isn't exactly known for their commitment to the customer's best interest, and doesn't have the greatest service track record. Good luck!

darwingotcha wrote:I would exercise caution if you are considering buying one of these systems. While I can't speak to any of these models specifically, I purchased a top-spec refurbished HP desktop earlier this summer and have been having unending trouble with the computer and, more importantly, with HP's customer service. The first day I turned it on, I had blue screen shutdowns, and they have continued for months despite hours and hours of tech support calls.

HP isn't exactly known for their commitment to the customer's best interest, and doesn't have the greatest service track record. Good luck!

TBH I think HP is one of the worst computer brands. I remember getting one my freshman year of undergrad along with all my other floormates. If I recall correctly everyone with an HP had something bad to say. antivirus couldn't save us from the ridiculous amount of bloatware, not to mention the awful customer service you receive. Maybe they might pick up in quality? But in my opinion I'd rather build my own pc or pick another brand.

My parents recently got an hp desktop and they seem to be having just as many problems with it. I think the issue is if you're nto computer savvy it'll be a real pain in the A$$, and the moment you begin to do research and or have some knowledge you'll probably realize "why did I buy this in the first place". I'm off HP for life and would personally recommend everyone do the same. Well, for their computers at least.

my experience with refurb hp/gateway are that it runs great in the begining, then after a year it goes dead and i need to get another one, but by that time new and inprove models comes out, just dont forget to back up.

How on earth do you have a 65W power supply on a desktop? That's not even enough for most laptops nowadays. Unless that is a typo?

That can't even be possible if it's running an external video card, which it appears is the case.

agentduke wrote:How on earth do you have a 65W power supply on a desktop? [ ... ] That can't even be possible if it's running an external video card, which it appears is the case.

I'm not sure where you're seeing the 65W number. Nevertheless, the Radeon HD 6530D is one of AMD's on-board graphics.

There is a PCIe-16x slot available, but you're correct that you'd need to beef up the power supply to be able to use a proper graphics card.

speakerpedal wrote:TBH I think HP is one of the worst computer brands.

I think it's less about brand and more about product line and model. Their servers and professional workstations are second to none, but the cheapest consumer stuff is going to have the necessary compromises and corner cutting to save on manufacturing costs, and probably extra bloatware that they might get a few extra bucks for loading on there. That sometimes leads to people saying "brand x is junk" based on their experience with just one of the cheapest things said brand sells.

I think that's true for most brands. They have to make money somehow, so if the price is really low, you'll be getting something without a lot of extra features or high end options.

In general, I've found the higher end the product line, the better the quality (at least with HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc) for the most part.

Apple avoids the potentially bad reputation that low-end, inexpensive products can sometimes acquire, mostly by refusing to sell any truly low-end systems at all; but most other manufacturers cover the whole range from the cheapest to the high end, and the quality and support vary between product lines even for the same company.

Some people would rather just have a computer that's "good enough" and save the extra money for something else. That philosophy will usually work just fine for typical web browsing, word processing, etc. For example my father in law is perfectly happy with a system even weaker than most of these and hasn't had any problems.

kmartind wrote:
In general, I've found the higher end the product line, the better the quality (at least with HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc) for the most part.

Good point about product line, though that's only hardware. I think the complaints are about customer services for consumer devices. Corporate IT pays a lot for hardware and annual maintenance contracts, and get top-notched services. Consumer devices seemed to be painful across all brands. We get the outsourced customer services. Nothing against outsourcing, but the rep's typically lack in-depth training. The canned responses they read from their screens normally aren't related to the problems at hand.

agentduke wrote:How on earth do you have a 65W power supply on a desktop? That's not even enough for most laptops nowadays. Unless that is a typo?

That can't even be possible if it's running an external video card, which it appears is the case.

These things have a laptop power supply - I got a similar system a few months ago for someone and couldn't find the hole to stick my old power cord in. I was about to pack it up to ship back when I saw the laptop cord in the box.

I've owned several HP refurb PC's- 2 desktops and one laptop. I purchased them with the understanding that they were so cheap that I could fix anything that went wrong with them and still be ahead. 5 years on one desktop, 3 on another and 3 on the laptop of hard use and no problems at all. Your mileage may vary. The lack of support means it's not a good recommendation to a non-tech relative.

Other note- none of these machines has an HDMI output, but there are several low-cost ($30), low power gpu's that will run off the wimpy stock power supply and render HD content and audio thru HDMI to your big screen tv making a decent home theater box because these systems are nearly silent.

agentduke wrote:How on earth do you have a 65W power supply on a desktop? That's not even enough for most laptops nowadays. Unless that is a typo?

That can't even be possible if it's running an external video card, which it appears is the case.

65W CPU, 300W PSU.